Apart from Yunusov, Dilshod Irsaliev continued his brilliant form by scoring a goal in the 31st minute before Shuhrat Tojiboev wrapped up the match with one minute remaining with a solo effort. Saad Bilal scored the solitary goal for Al Rayyan.

Al Rayyan were defeated at the same stage in the last year’s competition against Iran’s Shahid Mansouri and went on to lose again in the third-place play off against Lebanon’s Al Sadaka. In contrast, this is the first time Friday’s finalists Ardus get past the group stage.

Both the sides had good opening in the early period of the match but goalkeepers kept those efforts at bay before Rayyan goalie Badi Johar Abdulla succumbed to a tricky shot from Yunusov.

The Uzbek league highest scorer got his first goal of the tournament in the 9th minute after coming from a horrendous injury that kept him out of the Uzbek national team that played the AFC Futsal Championship in May.

Al Rayyan, who were defeated by Ardus in the qualifiers of this tournament 9-2, kept on fighting and finally got their equalizer in the 22nd minute when Japanese Akira Minamoto released an inch perfect pass to Saad Bilal.

The Qatar league champions had the best chance to go ahead in the match but Ardus goalie Rustam Umarov blocked a point-blank effort from Minamoto which turned out costly for Al Rayyan as Ardus hit back with a 31st minute lead from Irsaliev.

The Uzbek international collected a corner from Tojiboev and rounded off Rayyan goalie Abdullah to make his personal tally to seven goals.

Ardus virtually sealed the berth to the final after Tojiboev found the net in the 39th minute with Konstantin Svirodov providing a cross.

Ardus will take on Iranian champions Sanaye Giti Pasand on Friday’s final, while Al Rayyan will meet Japanese reigning champions Nagoya Oceans in an important third place playoff as the winning country of the third place playoff get an automatic berth in next year’s final.