The 56-year-old brings a wealth of experience, having coached at the highest level in Germany and the Netherlands, including at Feyenoord and FC Nurnberg, with his most recent stint with FC Twente.

"I have followed Australian football for a while now and have admired the work ethic and passion Aussies have for the game," he said after his appointment.

The defending champions went into the game at Kashima Soccer Stadium needing to avoid defeat to progress to the last 16, but fell behind early on when Marouane Fellaini struck after 11 minutes.

One down at the interval, Kashima knew that if the score remained the same and there was a winner between Gyeongnam FC and Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) in Group E’s other game, then they would be heading for an early exit.

The Abu Dhabi side reached the AFC Champions League knock-out stage for the first time in 12 years. And on Tuesday, they confirmed their place as group winners after snatching a 1-1 draw at Al Ittihad in their last group game.

Al Wahda’s last appearance in the knock-out stages saw them reach the semi-finals in 2007 before losing to Sepahan 3-1 on aggregate.

The two-time champions went close to exiting at the Group Stage for just the second time in their proud eight-tournament history, but they were indebted to their former FC Barcelona midfielder once more.

Only victory over visitors Daegu FC would suffice for Fabio Cannavaro's side to leapfrog the Koreans into the runners-up spot in Group F and it was Paulinho's 64th minute intervention that proved to be the difference-maker.

The defeat, with Mahdi Torabi and Ali Alipour scoring for 2018 finalists Persepolis, came just four days after Al Sadd had lost the Qatar Amir Cup final to Al Duhail.

It was not the farewell Al Sadd wanted to give retiring Spanish legend Xavi but forward Akram Afif admitted that Al Sadd had not been at their best in both matches.

Needing a win to secure a place in the last 16, Oscar’s first-half brace calmed any nerves among the Chinese Super League champions, before Li Shenglong added a third – his first-ever goal in the competition – to effectively secure the three points and qualification.

Oscar grabbed his hat-trick soon after and Hu Jinghang rounded off the scoring late on as Shanghai progressed to the knockout rounds for the fourth successive year and Li was left with a night to remember.