Adelaide United win through to FIFA Club World Cup

The 2008 AFC Champions League will feature a final showdown between Japan's Gamba Osaka and Australia's Adelaide United. 

Gamba saw off fellow J. League outfit Urawa Reds in their two-legged semi-final fixture, winning the second leg 3-1 in front of 53,287 baying fans at Saitama Stadium thanks to goals from captain Satoshi Yamaguchi, a rare strike from Tomokazu Myojin and another from influential midfielder Yasuhito Endo. 

Adelaide United qualified for the final despite a 1-0 defeat to Uzbek side Bunyodkor in Tashkent, with the South Australia's 3-0 home win in the first leg of the tie enough to propel the A-League club into the final. 

The victory marks a double coup for United, who will go on to represent the Asian Football Confederation at the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup in December, where they will be hopeful of winning through to a money-spinning semi-final clash with reigning European champions Manchester United at Yokohama International Stadium on December 18.

Whether United can overcome Gamba Osaka in the AFC Champions League final is another matter, but history would appear to be on Aurelio Vidmar's side after United knocked out the highly-fancied Kashima Antlers in the quarter-finals.

Gamba, meanwhile, beat fellow Australian side Melbourne Victory 4-3 in Melbourne and 2-0 in Osaka in the group stage of the competition before knocking out defending Asian champions Urawa Reds in the final four, despite many claiming the Kansai side to be the weakest of the Japanese representatives in this season's tournament.

The first leg of the final will take place at Expo '70 Stadium on the northern fringes of Osaka on November 5, and club officials will be hoping for even more than the 17,166 fans who packed into the compact ground for the first leg of their semi-final clash with Urawa, while Gamba's Emperor's Cup clash at home to J2 side Ventforet Kofu has now been pushed back to November 16.

Adelaide United chief executive Sam Ciccarello has ruled out moving the second leg of the final - set down for November 12 - from United's 17,000-capacity Hindmarsh Stadium, claiming that his side does not wish to give up "home advantage" by playing away from the boutique, purpose-built football stadium.

Both the AFC Champions League final and the FIFA Club World Cup will mark a financial windfall for United, with the Asian champions awarded $AU860,000 in prize money - the runner-up is guaranteed $AU575,000 - while the minimum amount earned for participation in the FIFA Club World Cup is $AU750,000.