“First of all, I'm very happy Nam Dinh weren't able to score with their excellent chance in the second minute,” said Skibbe. “Afterwards we took control of the match and played very well. 

“In the end, 4-0 is a good result for us and I'm very happy with the team's concentration for the entire 90 minutes.”

Sho Sasaki’s 10th minute goal got the ball rolling for Sanfrecce with efforts from Sota Nakamura (2) and Shuto Nakano adding to the emphatic win.

The German tactician was able to welcome defenders Taichi Yamazaki and Naoto Arai back into the fold with their contribution likely to come in handy when Sanfrecce lock horns with either Thailand’s Muangthong United or Lion City Sailors FC of Singapore in the last eight.

“I'm happy that Taichi is back after 12 months out with injury. He looked to be slightly off timing-wise in this game but that is normal after being away for so long. 

“I'm also happy to have Naoto back after two and a half months because he's a very important player for us.”

Nam Dinh head coach Vu Hong Viet cut a forlorn figure as the performance highlighted the difference in quality between the two sides over the two legs.

“Our opponents today are really strong, we tried our best but there was nothing we could do,” said Vu. “Congratulations to Sanfrecce and I'm sure they will be a contender for the title.”