AZ hosted FC Twente, the number six of the regular season, after comfortably eliminating sc Heerenveen 4-1 in Thursday's semi-final, whereas visitors Twente needed extra time to eliminate NEC Nijmegen after falling to ten men in the first half.
Both sides' hesitant starts ended abruptly when Portuguese defender Alexandre Penetra caused a controversial penalty for FC Twente, which the Eredivisie's top goalscorer Sem Steijn converted after 20 minutes.
Steijn, who likely played his last game for FC Twente ahead of an expected move to Feyenoord, doubled FC Twente's lead after 40 minutes. Daan Rots launched Michel Vlap into AZ's penalty area, where Vlap perfectly assisted Steijn, who put the ball in an empty net.
However, the visitors wouldn't enter half-time with a two-goal cushion, as Thursday's hat-trick hero, Mexx Meerdink, got one back for AZ with an explosive effort from up close. FC Twente feared it was about to go from bad to worse after a reckless challenge from Ricky van Wolfswinkel, but referee Serdar Gozubuyuk ignored the VAR official's advice and stuck to the yellow card he had given the former Norwich striker.
After the break, AZ centre-half Maxim Dekker, who replaced an injured Penetra during the break, sent a delightful ball over the FC Twente defence and in the direction of Meerdink, but the young striker couldn't finish a 1-on-1 with Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro.
Ruben van Bommel, son of former Milan and Barcelona midfielder Mark van Bommel, turned the game on its head in the 52nd minute with a mighty effort from distance that surprised 38-year-old stopper Przemyslaw Tyton: 2-2.
Comeback complete
As the final twenty minutes commenced, a stunning reflex from Owusu-Oduro and a goal-line save from Dekker saved AZ from falling behind for a second time after Michel Vlap's effort from up close.
The home side completed a sensational comeback in the 94th minute when former Spurs striker Troy Parrott saw his effort parried away by Tyton, but tapped in by team-mate Ibrahim Sadiq as the home crowd erupted.
Youth international Owusu-Oduro saved AZ once more with a terrific save on a shot from Arno Verschueren, and the home side officially punched their ticket for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League. It will be the eighth consecutive European season for the home side.
FC Twente, who were knocked out by surprise package Bodo/Glimt in this UEFA Europa League season, miss out on European football for the first time since 2022.
View all the match statistics on Flashscore.
