Ajax has completed the 32-team Champions League lineup as last season's semi-finalists beat APOEL 2-0 in their Champions League play-off second leg on Wednesday to secure their spot in Thursday's draw for the group stage.
Mexican international defender Alvarez, a 16.6-million-U.S.-dollar recruit from Club America to replace Juventus-bound Matthijs de Ligt, headed home from a set-piece two minutes before half-time, as Ajax were rewarded for their first-half domination.
Tadic then controlled a crossfield ball from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar on the edge of the area before rifling home on his left foot with 10 minutes left in Amsterdam as Ajax advanced after a goalless draw in the first leg in Cyprus.
There were nervy moments for Erik ten Hag's team, who thought they had gone 2-0 up just after half-time when Huntelaar headed in off the underside of the bar.
However, after a VAR review, the goal was disallowed for an extremely tight offside against Joel Veltman in the build-up.
Moments later APOEL had the ball in the net at the other end, but this time the offside was clear for all to see and there would be no precious away goal for the Cypriot champions.
Ajax stunned Real Madrid and Juventus on their way to last season's Champions League semi-finals, where they were beaten by Tottenham Hotspur. They had already edged out Greek champions PAOK in the third qualifying round.
Captain Dusan Tadic scores Ajax's second goal as the Dutch champions beat APOEL 2-0 to secure their place in Thursday's draw for the Champions League group stage. /VCG Photo
As well as De Ligt, the four-time European champions have lost midfield starlet Frenkie de Jong to Barcelona since last season's remarkable run.
Donny van de Beek, who has been linked with Real Madrid, did not play against APOEL, reportedly due to injury.
Ajax will be in the second pot in Thursday's draw in Monaco, which is due to start at 1600 GMT.
After all-English finals in both UEFA club competitions last season, defending champion Liverpool, Premier League title holder Manchester City and Europa League winner Chelsea are all in the pot of eight top-seeded teams.
England seeks to lift European soccer’s most iconic trophy for the 14th time. Spain has a record of 18 titles, though those were won by just two clubs – 13 for Real Madrid, five for Barcelona. Five different English clubs have won the competition which kicked off 64 years ago.
A familiar group of national champions from Europe’s top leagues completes the top-seeded pot: Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and, back after a three-year gap, Zenit St. Petersburg.
The 32 teams, from 16 different countries, will again share prize money of 2.16 billion U.S. dollars from UEFA. The total revenue is 3.6 billion U.S. dollars for broadcasting and commercial sales across the Champions League, Europa League, and season-opening Super Cup.
The title winner in Istanbul on May 30 should get at least 111 million U.S. dollars. All 32 clubs get a basic fee of 16.9 million U.S. dollars plus more based on match results, a share of national television rights, and a ranking of their historical record in UEFA competitions.