The Jordan champions beat Foolad Khouzestan FC of Islamic Republic of Iran 1-0 on Matchday Six, courtesy of Hassan Saad’s 27th minute strike, to see Al Wehdat end their 2021 campaign third in Group D with seven points.

Despite not being able to extend their stay at the continental club tournament, Zema was more than satisfied with the takeaways.

Sharjah had secured the top spot in the group and a place in the Round of 16, but Tractor were hopeful a win coupled with other results going their way could keep them in the competition, having gone five games undefeated and collected seven points prior to Thursday.

With both sides already eliminated and playing for pride, Air Force Club went into the match still looking for a first group stage win since 2008, while 2020 AFC Champions League quarter-finalists Pakhtakor looked to sign off with their first win of the current campaign.

Goals from Abderrazak Hamdallah and Abdulelah Al Amri either side of half-time put the group hosts within sight of the knockout stage, before Santi Cazorla made for a nervy finale when he pulled a goal back from the penalty spot with seven minutes remaining.

While Al Nassr can look forward to September’s Round of 16, Al Sadd will need to wait until Friday night to see if their final tally of 10 points will be good enough for them to qualify as one of the best three runners-up.

There was only pride on the line for Al Wehdat and Foolad as both sides were out of contention for a place in the knockout stage, but that didn’t stop the two teams from opting for an intense pressing style of play.

With Persepolis FC of the Islamic Republic of Iran having sealed top spot in Group E following an emphatic 4-2 win over Al Rayyan in the earlier match, the best Al Wahda could hope for going into the match against FC Goa was to advance to the Round of 16 as one of the best three second-placed finishers.

They did just that with the win taking Henk ten Cate's side to 13 points which - following the results of other matches on Thursday - assured them of finishing as one of the three best runners-up.

The two-time finalists had slipped to a 1-0 loss to the club from the United Arab Emirates on Matchday Five, but they eventually claimed all three points against Laurent Blanc’s already-eliminated side after a nervy second half at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa.

Shahriyar Moghanlou opened the scoring in the 27th minute having earlier hit the crossbar with a header before Ehsan Pahlavan doubled the Iranian side’s advantage seven minutes later. But two goals from Yohan Boli kept Al Rayyan in contention in the second 45 minutes and Persepolis needed further efforts from Hossein Kanani and Isa Alkasir to confirm their fifth victory in six games in the group phase.