Clareto Monsorate

Japan have four players, from a list of 10, who are nominated for the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) International Player of the Week award – based on performances from May 12 to 18.

Japan’s defensive veteran Maya Yoshida is among them. The 32-year-old plays for Sampdoria in the Italian Serie A. Yoshida had two excellent performances over the week. In a midweek match against Spezia he completed an incredible 98 passes, before playing a major role in Sampdoria’s clean sheet against Udinese on Sunday.

Takefusa Kubo represents Getafe in Spain’s La Liga. The 19-year-old, who was on loan from Real Madrid, was on the pitch for only 22 minutes, but made a priceless contribution to Getafe’s season with his superb winning goal against Levante on Sunday.

The thunderous strike not only secured three points on the day but put them four points clear of the relegation zone with one game remaining, confirming the club will remain in La Liga next season.

Wataru Endo scored a fabulous goal in his first season with VfB Stuttgart in Germany’s Bundesliga. The Japanese midfielder’s 72^nd-minute strike helped his team remain in the top half of the table with one match remaining.

"Boss-Move" ➡ @wataru0209 ⚽💥#VfB #BMGVfB 1:2 pic.twitter.com/FmI3ht8Kzh

— VfB Stuttgart (@VfB) May 18, 2021

Junya Ito plays for KRC Genk in the Belgian Pro League. The Japanese winger excelled in back-to-back Championship Round clashes against Anderlecht, giving Genk an outside chance of snatching the Belgian league title with two matches remaining.

Every week, the AFC nominates the top-performing Asian players for the award. Nominees are Asian footballers currently playing in some of the top football leagues in the world, including the English Premier League.

The competition for the top award is stiff as there are players from Uzbekistan, China, Iran, South Korea and even India.

Fan voting will determine the eventual awardee, according to the AFC.