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#7 Takashi Inui
At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Inui was Japan's brightest spark and even scored a couple of goals in the competition.
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Despite the eventual result of that game against Belgium at the FIFA World Cup in 2018, Inui will remember it for his sensational goal that gave Thibaut Courtois no chance in the Belgian goal.
Inui currently plies his trade for Shimizu S-Pulse, a team that plays in the second division of Japan. Inui had a notable stint in Spain, where he played for teams like Eibar, Real Betis and Alaves.
#6 Abdelkarim Hassan
Qatar's left-back Hassan was Afif's predecessor as the AFC Player of the Year when he won the award in 2018.
Like both Afif and Al-Haydos, Hassan also plays for Al-Sadd in the Qatar Stars League.
Hassan is one of the best full-backs in the continent; his surging runs forward form an integral part of the way Qatar play under Spanish head coach Felix Sanchez.
Hassan, though, will look to make further progress in the AFC Champions League this season. His team Al Sadd had to endure heartbreak in the Round of 16 against eventual finalists Persepolis, when an 88th-minute goal knocked them out of the competition.
#5 Hiroki Sakai
Right-back Hiroki Sakai has been one of the flagbearers for Japanese footballers in recent times.
Since 2012, when he moved from Kashiwa Reysol to then-Bundesliga side Hannover 96 - Sakai has been a constant feature in the big European leagues.
In 2016, Sakai moved from Hannover to Marseille and is now their starting right-back under head coach Andre Villas-Boas.
Notably, Sakai featured for Marseille in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League in a group also featuring Manchester City, Porto, and Olympiacos.
Sakai has also made 64 appearances for the Japanese national team, including in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, when his team finished the tournament with heartbreak in the Round of 16. Japan were two goals up against Belgium but were stunned by a second-half comeback from the Red Devils, eventually losing 3-2. He currently plays for Japanese club Urawa Red Diamonds.
#4 Hwang Hee-Chan
Currently at RB Leipzig, Hwang Hee-Chan is one of the shining lights of Korean football outside their bonafide superstar in Son Heung-min.
Hee-Chan was truly thrust into European football's limelight last season, when he was playing for Austrian side RB Salzburg.
In particular, Hwang was excellent at Anfield against Liverpool in a group stage game of the UEFA Champions League.
However, since his move to Leipzig, Hee-Chan didn't nail down a starting spot for himself with the German outfit and was loaned to Premier League team Wolves, who later made the move permanent and signed the player to a contract till 2026.
