In what is shaping as an Asian rivalry, Gamba Osaka has once again denied Adelaide United. The FIFA Club World Cup quarter final saw the same match-up as the Asian Champions League final and ultimately the same result as the Japanese club scored a first-half goal to progress through to the semi-final against European champions Manchester United.

Yasuhito Endo struck in the 23rd minute for Gamba in a match that could have gone either way according to Reds coach Aurelio Vidmar.

"I thought we played a very good game tonight and I thought we probably deserved a little bit more out of the game than what we got," Vidmar said.

"We know we were up against a superior opponent but that proved to me tonight that we can match it with a side like Gamba.

"I'm very proud of the way they performed tonight. I think it a fantastic improvement from the ACL Final and it is giving us a benchmark of where we should be heading and where football in Australia should be heading," he added.

"Now we just look forward to Thursday's game and once again it's another game where we want to do our very best and win."

Adelaide United will next play Egyptian club Al Ahly in the 5th and 6th place play-off on Thursday December 18 whilst Gamba turns to the world's biggest club in Manchester United in the semi-final.