“It’s a big step, a big stage,” said Sousa. “We are really working really well. Since 2017 the club have been working to grow the group of players, with young players, investing lots for that.

“Since my time here last year, my idea has been to create a winning mentality, a culture of winning, looking mainly to be the protagonist in the match and to be in these Finals.

“For the players and the club, it’s one more step that we have reached and we are looking to recover, focusing on our opponents in the next one and to make another step.”

Shabab Al Ahli had dominated the opening exchanges against the side from the Islamic Republic of Iran but, as the first half wore on, it was Tractor who started to take the initiative, going into the interval on top.

But Beiranvand’s red card seven minutes after the break for a foul on Sardar Azmoun changed the complexion of the game and, 13 minutes later, Cesar’s penalty gave Shabab Al Ahli the lead.

Ezatolahi doubled their advantage with 10 minutes remaining and Mateusao capped a commanding second half performance from Shabab Al Ahli with a clinical finish deep into stoppage time.

“We worked hard, good,” said Sousa. “I would like to have had much more control of the game, especially when we had one player more.

“It gave us the chance to have counter attacks and with the quality of players we have we had more opportunities to score more goals. Very happy for the win and for the players because they deserve it.”

Tractor head coach Mohammad Ali Rabiei admitted his side’s lack of preparation made it harder to manage the game as proceedings wore on, with Beiranvand’s dismissal only adding to the problems faced by his team.

“The players were really passionate and motivated and we were able to keep our shape and discipline, especially in in the first half,” he said.

“Our team suffered because for 40 days we have been a long way from training. We managed our energy in the first half with our strategy and we created opportunities in the first half.

“That one incident changed the game,” Rabiei said of the red card. “After we went behind we did our best to come back, we played high risk football to score the equaliser but our opponents could use the space behind our defence and they could score more goals.”