All four semi-finalists needed strong performances on the road in their quarter-final second leg matches last Wednesday to book their spots in the last four.

Korean champions Seongnam and Japanese double winners Urawa travelled to Al Karama of Syria and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of Korea, respectively, with slender 2-1 leads but early goals in both matches turned the ties in their favour as they each claimed 2-0 victories to eliminate both of last year's AFC Champions League finalists 4-1 on aggregate.

Al Wahda of the United Arab Emirates reached the semi-finals for the first time after holding Saudi giants Al Hilal to a 1-1 draw in Riyadh to advance on away goals.

But the biggest drama of the night came in Japan as Iran Hazfi Cup holders Sepahan prevailed in only the second penalty shoot-out in AFC Champions League history to eliminate Kawasaki Frontale.

The elimination of Jeonbuk means that there will be a new name inscribed on the AFC Champions League trophy this year as only one of the final four - Seongnam - has got this far before.

The seven-time K-League champions are the only side to have tasted continental glory before, winning the Asian Club Championship as Ilhwa Chunma in 1996 with a 1-0 extra-time victory over Al Nasr of Saudi Arabia.

However, the Korean club are probably better known for the spectacular defeat against Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia in the 2004 AFC Champions League final.

They won the first leg 3-1 in Jeddah but the return match in Korea proved to be a nightmare for the home side as they were hammered 5-0 to lose 6-3 on aggregate.

Three years on, Kim Hak-bum's side have an opportunity to redeem themselves and there should be plenty of confidence in the Seongnam camp after a good recent run of form which has put them back on top of the K-League standings with only three rounds of games left in the regular season.

Their hopes were boosted by a good away performance in the quarter-finals against Syrian league champions Al Karama, who finished runners-up in last year's AFC Champions League and had never been beaten at home in nine previous AFC Champions League matches.

But their record came to a crashing end against the Koreans, who took the lead through a ninth-minute free-kick by Brazilian striker Mota before Kim Dong-hun settled matters with 19 minutes remaining.

Seongnam will be sweating on the fitness of top scorer Mota, who was stretchered off against Incheon United in the K-League on Sunday, for the first leg of their mouth-watering semi-final clash against Urawa at Seongnam Tancheon Sports Complex.

Urawa showed their class by sending defending champions Jeonbuk packing with a straightforward 2-0 win over the Korean side in Jeonju.

Holger Osieck's side refused to be intimidated by Jeonbuk's robust play which saw Chung Kyung-ho sent off and five other players picking up yellow cards.

They took the lead through Tatsuya Tanaka after only four minutes and Robson Ponte's strike midway through the second half ensured that Urawa became the first Japanese team to reach the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League.

Reds are on a roll right now with eight wins in their last 10 J.League matches but they appear even more determined to become the first Japanese club to win a continental title since Shimizu S-Pulse claimed the Asian Cup Winners' Cup in 2000.

Korean clubs have usually dominated their Japanese counterparts in the short history of the AFC Champions League but Kawasaki's victories against Chunnam Dragons during the group stage and Urawa's success against Jeonbuk may signal a change in the balance of power.

Urawa defeated Seongnam 1-0 in June when the two sides met at the A3 Champions Cup in Jinan, China.

The second semi-final brings together two clubs that have never previously got past the quarter-finals of an Asian club tournament.

For Sepahan, it marks the first time that the Esfahan outfit have even gone beyond the group stage of the AFC Champions League after narrowly missing out on the knockout rounds in 2004 and 2005.

The Iranian side clinched a penalty shootout victory against Kawasaki after 210 minutes of scoreless football, but the team coached by Luka Bonacic may need to show a bit more of a cutting edge up front if they hope to get past Al Wahda in the first leg of the semi-finals at Foolad Shahr Stadium.

Having prevailed on away goals against Al Hilal in front of 55,000 fans in Riyadh last week, Al Wahda travel to Esfahan looking to continue their strong run in this year's tournament.

Eliminated in the quarter-finals in 2004 and in the group stage last year, the Abu Dhabi side have shown much improvement this year and will be keen to emulate the feats of UAE league rivals Al Ain, who won the inaugural AFC Champions League title in 2003 and were runners-up to Al Ittihad two years ago.

Striker Ismail Matar, scorer of the crucial away goal in Riyadh, is likely to be the key to success for the three-time UAE league champions, who will be missing midfielder Abdulla Belal after his sending-off in the dying minutes against Al Hilal.

The return matches will be played on October 24 in Saitama and Abu Dhabi with the winners advancing to the final, which is scheduled to take place over two legs on November 7 and 14.