Kashima Antlers became the first Asian side to reach the Club World Cup final when they beat Colombia’s South American champions Atlético Nacional 3-0 at the Suita City Stadium in Osaka.

Kashima’s first goal came after 33 minutes when Shoma Doi converted a penalty given for an off-the-ball trip by Orlando Berrio on Daigo Nishi after video evidence was used to award a spot-kick for the first time in a Fifa competition.

The referee, Viktor Kassai, was called to the side of the pitch to watch the incident replayed on a computer. Kassai adjudged Berrio to have tripped Daigo as the players moved into the box to challenge for a free-kick. Although Daigo looked to be offside , the penalty was awarded and Shoma made no mistake.

Yasushi Endo scored the Antlers’ second after 83 minutes when he took advantage of an error by the goalkeeper Franco Armani to backheel a loose ball into the empty net.

Atlético’s heads went down and two minutes later Yuma Suzuki, who came on seconds earlier, sidefooted a third from close range after Mu Kanazaki’s perfect pass across goal.

It was the third time in seven years a South American side had failed to reach the final of the tournament, which is contested by the world’s continental champions plus the hosts.

Japan’s J-league champions now play the winners of Thursday’s semi-final between Real Madrid and Mexico’s Club América in Yokohama. The final is on Sunday.

“They attacked us so well I’m glad we finished with a clean sheet,” the Kashima manager, Masatada Ishii, said. “We persevered and persevered and now we’re in the final. We’ve got one more game which we hope to win. We will be fighting for all of Japan.”

Atlético were the better side, especially in the first half, and finished with 24 shots at goal to Kashima’s 10. However, they could not find a way past Kashima’s veteran goalkeeper Hitoshi Sogahata, who won the man of the match award, and paid the price when they were caught on the break.

“We hit the bar and we had clear chances and those would have given use the composure to play our game,” the Atlético manager, Reinaldo Rueda, said. “We’re very sad.“

The defeat capped a traumatic few weeks for Atlético. The Copa Libertadores champions were scheduled to face Chapecoense in the final of the Copa Sudamericana but a plane crash killed most of the Brazilian side as their flight approached Medellín and the game was cancelled.

Atlético asked for the trophy to be awarded to Chapecoense to honour the victims after 71 passengers and crew died. Two weeks of mourning followed in Colombia and Brazil, affecting Atlético’s preparations for the Club World Cup.