Yuichiro Nagai put the J.League champions ahead in the 22nd minute and Yuki Abe headed in 19 minutes from time to secure a 3-1 aggregate victory over the Hazfi Cup holders.

Holding a slight edge after a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Esfahan, Reds began strongly and nearly opened the scoring after seven minutes.

Brazilian playmaker Robson Ponte floated in a free-kick which was met by an unmarked Marcus Tulio Tanaka, who directed his header on target only to see the ball palmed away by a leaping Abbas Mohammadi.

The home side was in the ascendancy and took the lead midway through the half after Ponte's attempted through pass nicked off a Sepahan player, taking the ball past the outstretched leg of Jaba Mujiri and into the path of an unattended Nagai.

The Urawa striker ran unchallenged into the box and rifled a fierce right-footed shot past Mohammadi into the roof of the net, sending the Reds fans into ecstasy.

Sepahan offered little real threat in the opening half-hour with their best chance falling to Abdul Wahab Abolheil, whose low shot from the edge of box skimmed narrowly wide of the left upright.

Looking to inject some fresh life into this team, Sepahan coach Luka Bonacic sent striker Mahmoud Karimi on for the ineffective Emad Mohammed in the 30th minute but the home side continued to enjoy the better chances.

Ponte very nearly added a second in the 39th minute when he burst clear on goal only to be denied by as superb covering tackle by Mohsen Bengar while Washington's audacious lob from just past the halfway line flew over the head of Mohammadi but clipped the top of the crossbar.

Just before half-time, Reds were given a scare when goalkeeper Ryota Tsuzuki came off his line to challenge Karimi but failed to gather the ball. However, the Sepahan striker failed to get enough purchase on his shot, which was hacked clear by a covering Tulio.

Needing a goal to rescue the match, Sepahan pushed forward after the break with skipper Moharram Navidkia going close with a shot from the edge of the box that flew just wide of the right post.

Washington should have made the game safe on 52 minutes but delayed too long on his eventual shot, which proved too tame to trouble Mohammadi.

The Brazilian had another opening just after the hour when Makoto Hasebe's cross from the left was misplayed by Mujiri. The ball bounced up nicely for Washington who hooked the ball on target only to be denied by a magnificent reflex save by Mohammadi

But Urawa put the game away in the 71st minute. The ball came in from the left flank to Washington, who knocked the ball down for Nagai whose first-time drive was superbly saved by Mohammadi.

The ball flew upwards and Abe managed to outleap Ebrahim Lovinian to head home the decisive second goal.

Sepahan poured forward in a desperate attempt to get back into the game and thought that they had pulled a goal back in the 78th minute when Karimi tucked the ball away after running on to Navidkia's through ball only to see the effort chalked out for offside.

With seven minutes left, Karimi cut the ball back to an unmarked Navidkia, but the Sepahan captain's rising shot from the edge of the area flew well over the crossbar.

As Asian champions, Urawa will go directly into the quarter-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup, to be played in Japan next month.

Sepahan have also earned a berth in the tournament but they must first play Oceania club champions Waitakere United of New Zealand in a play-off to qualify for the knock-out stages.