Air Force found themselves trailing to Youssoufou Niakate's goal after 24 minutes but second half substitute Aymen Hussein's dramatic equaliser in the second minute of added time forced the match into extra time and then the penalty shootout, which the Iraqi side won 3-2.

The win means Air Force Club join UAE’s Sharjah FC, Islamic Republic of Iran’s Tractor and Pakhtakor FC of Uzbekistan in Group B of the 2021 AFC Champions League in Sharjah.

The Dutch coach, who returned to the UAE club last month, found his side trailing one minute into the second half when Alaa Abdulzahra gave Al Zawraa the lead despite Al Wahda having dominated the first period.

However, Al Wahda equalised through 2017 AFC Player of the Year Omar Khrbin in the 62nd minute before Ibrahim Khalil fired the winning goal in the 77th to take his team into Group E, joining Islamic Republic of Iran’s Persepolis FC, Qatar’s Al Rayyan SC and FC Goa of India.

The three-time AFC Cup winners left it late to find the back of the net, cancelling Al Wehda’s first-half goal and taking the game to an extra 30 minutes where the two teams could not be separated.

With this win Air Force Club join UAE’s Sharjah FC, Islamic Republic of Iran’s Tractor and Pakhtakor FC of Uzbekistan in Group B of the 2021 AFC Champions League taking place in Sharjah.

Djokić broke through after nearly two hours of a tense but goalless football, with Mirjalol Kasimov’s side missing several chances before finally booking their place in the main draw.

AGMK will join Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal SFC, Shabab Al Ahli of UAE and Tajikistan's FC Istiklol in Group A, which begins in Riyadh next Thursday while Al Gharafa’s participation comes to an abrupt end.

Head coach Nabin Neupane and his squad will now travel to Goa to face India’s Bengaluru FC next Wednesday in their bid to advance to the group stage.

Raif Ahmed opened the scoring in the ninth minute, but the hosts had to withstand a second-half recovery from Thimphu before Naim confirmed his side’s progress with a superb late free-kick.

The result extends Club Eagles’ bid to qualify for the group stage, with another sudden death tie against Abahani Limited Dhaka of Bangladesh to follow next Wednesday, while Thimphu’s continental campaign is over as quickly as it begun.

The 34-year-old Mercado, who joined Al Rayyan two years ago, picked up the injury during their 2-1 defeat against Qatar Stars League champions Al Sadd on Wednesday.