The pair have already made their mark this season by becoming the first teams from Japan and Iran to reach the last four of Asian football's premier club competition, but after good results in the opening legs of their semi-final ties three weeks ago they find themselves within touching distance of the championship match.

No Japanese side has managed get past the group stage of the AFC Champions League prior to this season but Urawa could very well become the first team from their country to win a continental honour since Shimizu S-Pulse clinched the Asian Cup Winners' Cup in 2000.

The Japanese double winners will host Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma at Saitama Stadium 2002 with a slender advantage after holding the Korean league champions to a 2-2 draw in the first leg in Korea.

It could have been so much better for the winners of last season's J.League and Emperor's Cup, who recovered from an early deficit to lead 2-1 thanks to a Tatsuya Tanaka header and a Robson Ponte penalty in the second half.

But Kim Do-heon's equaliser nine minutes from time gives Kim Hak-bum's side confidence of turning around the tie in Japan.

It will not be easy for the Korean side as Urawa have yet to be beaten in this season's AFC Champions League, winning three of their previous four home games at Saitama Stadium in the competition.

However, Seongnam only have to look back to their last appearance in the AFC Champions League semi-finals in 2004 against Pakhtakor for inspiration.

The Uzbek champions had not been beaten at home in 10 previous AFC Champions League matches but, needing a result in Tashkent after a goalless draw in the first leg in Korea, Seongnam won 2-0 to advance to the final.

And the Koreans can draw further inspiration from just a month ago when home advantage proved to be of little value to any of the teams that hosted the second legs of the quarter-finals.

Defending champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of Korea and last year's beaten finalists Al Karama of Syria went out after 2-0 home defeats to Urawa and Seongnam, respectively, Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia bowed out on away goals after being held to a 1-1 draw by Al Wahda of the United Arab Emirates while Japan'sKawasaki Frontale were eliminated after a penalty shootout loss to Sepahan.

Hazfi Cup holders Sepahan played out 210 minutes without scoring against Kawasaki but they turned on the style against Al Wahda earlier this month, winning 3-1 in Esfahan to take a two-goal advantage to the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

A brace by Mahmoud Karimi and skipper Moharram Navidkia's late penalty have put Sepahan in the driver's seat in the tie as they look to become the first Iranian club to claim a continental title since the Pas side that captured the 1992 Asian Club Championship.

Pas were also the only previous Iranian side to reach the knockout stage of the AFC Champions League, going out to Al Ain on away goals in the 2005 quarter-finals.

Sepahan have already surpassed that performance but they will certainly fancy their chances of preserving their advantage against an Al Wahda team missing defender Yaser Abdulla, who is suspended after receiving a red card in the first leg.

The Esfahan side suffered their first defeat of the season in the middle of the month when they were beaten 3-2 at Esteghlal-Ahvaz in the Iran Pro League but a morale boosting 3-2 victory over high-flying Malavan last weekend moved them back up to second place in the table and should give them plenty of confidence for the clash in Abu Dhabi.

Meanwhile, Al Wahda lost 3-0 in a friendly against Qatar Sports Club last Thursday and will be sorely looking for inspiration as they attempt to recover from the two-goal deficit.

The good news for Ivo Wortmann's side is that midfielder Abdulraheem Juma appears to have recovered from a knee injury and should be ready to return to action after missing the quarter-finals and the first leg of the semi-finals.

Al Wahda are keen to emulate league rivals Al Ain, who claimed the inaugural AFC Champions League in 2003 but they will have to make a remarkable recovery on Wednesday if they hope to prolong their interest in this year's competition.