The Premier League’s seven players at the AFC Asian Cup are making their presences felt in Qatar, where Iran, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia have representatives from the PL.
All of the seven reps will play into the knockout rounds, as Iran won its group, South Korea and Japan finished second in theirs, and Indonesia’s third-place finish was enough to advance past the group stage.
[ MORE: AFC Asian Cup scores, schedule, tables ]
How have the men done? Let’s begin with a man tied for the tournament lead in assists: Saman Ghoddos. Granted the 30-year-old Brentford fullback set up two goals in his 89 minutes of Iran’s 4-1 win over Palestine to start group play and did not add another helper, but it’s counts as the Persian Stars went 3-0.
Spurs forward Heung-min Son scored twice for South Korea in the group stage, both goals coming from the spot, while Wolves’ Hee-chan Hwang missed the first two games through injury but came off the bench for 28 minutes in the third game.
Japan and Liverpool’s Wataru Endo recorded a goal and an assist in group play, while Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal) played in two of their games. Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma remains on the injured list.
Wolves academy product Justin Hubner may be 20 but was amongst the lowercase-w wolves for Indonesia, going 90 minutes in all three games as Indonesia squeezed into the knockout rounds via their 1-0 win over Vietnam.
Which Premier League players are at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup?
Group A
None
Group B
None
Group C
Iran: Saman Ghoddos (Brentford)
Group D
Japan: Wataru Endo (Liverpool), Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal)
Indonesia: Justin Hubner (Wolves)
Group E
South Korea: Heung-min Son (Tottenham), Hee-chan Hwang (Wolves),
Group F
None