Saqr produced two fantastic stops in normal and extra time to deny Jeonbuk Motors striker Jeong Shung-hoon and, after the game ended two apiece at the end of 120 minutes, the 30-year-old denied both Kim Dong-chan and Park Won-jae in the shootout before Nadir Belhadj converted the winning spot kick to also book the Qataris place at the FIFA Club World Cup.

"I am very, very happy of course for everybody but also for Mohamed Saqr because when I returned to the club, many people told me that Mohamed Saqr cannot play any more. They said he is too old," said Fossati.

"He played fantastic today but believe me, it was not the only game that he was fantastic in this competition.

"Today he had a big game. The Jeonbuk players did not miss the penalties, he saved them.

"It is different. In the game also he made two or three very important saves, the one at the end was extraordinary, and he showed everybody that he can play and he can continue to play."

Eninho had given Jeonbuk a 17th-minute lead with a fine free-kick but Sim Woo-yeon headed into his own net 12 minutes later.

Abdulkader Kaita's clinical finish then gave Al Sadd the lead in the 63rd minute and the Qataris appeared on course for a famous victory at the home of the Koreans until Lee Sung-hyun headed in a dramatic equaliser in injury time.

"I could not imagine that it would go to penalties. I really was very worried, especially when it went to extra time because, as you can understand, our physical condition to play this game was not the same as normal," added Fossati.

"When you fly 10 hours two days ago, you need to adapt to the different time zone.

"I was worried that our players could not finish the game for this reason but the players played not only with their bodies but their hearts and we could win on penalties."

Jeonbuk boss Choi Kang-hee lamented his side's profligacy in front of goal.

"We are very sad but my players gave their best," he said.

"We played this game after finishing top of the K-League but the conditions affecting us such as playing at home and the fans expecting us to win this game was a very difficult situation for me.

"I believe that we did not score enough goals and this is why we lost.

"I don't feel that my players became complacent after equalising in the last minute. I actually feel that after that goal, our players had much more confidence and maybe could score a goal in extra time to win.

"I feel tonight's defeat came from so many chances that we failed to score. When we conceded the first goal, this was decisive and maybe some of our players also got too excited in the game and could not control their emotions very well."