Guangzhou’s quest for a third continental title came to an end on Wednesday when Shinzo Koroki’s second half header ensured Urawa added the Chinese Super League leaders’ scalp to that of Beijing FC and Shanghai SIPG.

Urawa eliminated Beijing in the group phase before defeating Shanghai in the quarter-finals and claimed their third Chinese victim at the Tianhe Stadium when they finished off a 3-0 aggregate win over Cannavaro’s team.

Koroki’s 50th minute goal earned Urawa a 3-0 aggregate win over the Chinese Super League leaders and ensured the final will be a repeat of the 2017 clash, when Urawa defeated Al Hilal from Saudi Arabia over two legs to claim their second AFC Champions League crown.

The pair will face off again after Al Hilal's win over Al Sadd from Qatar on Tuesday evening and Urawa will now have the chance to become the first club to win the trophy on three occasions, having seen off a Guangzhou side attempting to overcome a two-goal first leg deficit to keep their own hopes of a third AFC Champions League title alive.

Al Hilal came close to losing their 4-1 advantage from the semi-final, first leg but goals from Salem Al Dawsari and Bafetimbi Gomis secured the Saudi Arabia club a 6-5 aggregate win and a place in the final against either Guangzhou Evergrande or Urawa Red Diamonds.

With the advantage of a three-goal lead from the first leg and a huge crowd behind them, Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal took the game to their opponents from the start, and within five minutes they had created their first big chance.

Goals from Akram Afif, Nam Tae-hee, Hassan Al Haydos and Boualem Khoukhi saw Al Sadd defeat Al Hilal SFC 4-2 in the second leg of the semi-finals at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, but Salem Al Dawsari and Bafetimbi Gomis' first half efforts ensured the Saudi Arabia club advanced 6-5 on aggregate.

Gomis and Leonardo – who has left Al Wahda to join Shabab Al Ahli since the Emirati side were eliminated – are tied with nine goals apiece, but with the Saudi team potentially having three more games to play, the Frenchman is the favourite to win the top scorer award come November 24.

But, while one more goal would see the Al Hilal target man take pole position, there remains a chasing pack who will have one eye on the accolade. Ahead of the semi-final second legs next week, the-AFC.com takes a closer look at the contenders.

China PR's Guangzhou Evergrande, Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan, Qatari club Al Sadd and Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal will resume their quest to become Asia's kings next week when the AFC Champions League recommences with the second legs of the semi-finals.

Before then, the-AFC.com looks at how their international stars got on for their nations in the most recent rounds of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023.