While Japan and South Korea’s runs in the World Cup have ended, after losing to Croatia and Brazil respectively in the round of 16, the teams’ dedication and skills have helped make more of their players become global household names.

Here are some of the Asian footballers that shone brightest in this year’s World Cup.

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Maya Yoshida

Born in Nagasaki, Maya Yoshida is a familiar face to European football fans as he started playing for English Premier League team Southampton in 2012. Now playing for Bundesliga club Schalke 04, the centre-back led the Japan national team by example in Qatar.

While he didn’t score, he did claim an assist for Japan’s first-half goal during their last-16 game against Croatia. His missed penalty kick during the final shoot-out, and his tearful interview after the game, showed just how much pressure was on this 34-year-old.

Wataru Endo

Like Yoshida, midfielder Wataru Endo is also a Bundesliga player, contracted to VfB Stuttgart until 2024 and also the club captain.

Endo’s professional career began with Shonan Bellmare in the J1 League in 2010, where he was selected as captain at the young age of 19. His overseas career began in 2020 when he was signed by Belgian Pro League club Sint-Truidense V.V. before moving to Stuttgart.

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His solid performance as defensive midfielder during this year’s World Cup – particularly in the game against Germany – was highly praised, showing that at 29 he is in his prime, as shown by his sprint and blocking stats.

Daichi Kamada

The fact that eight members of Japan’s World Cup squad play for German clubs was definitely crucial to their win against Germany, and Daichi Kamada is part of that successful formula as an Eintracht Frankfurt player.

From playing in Kids FC in his native Ehime prefecture, the 26-year-old attacking midfielder made his full Bundesliga debut in 2017, and in the current 2022-23 season he has already posted seven goals in the league.

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Even though he didn’t have the most influential World Cup, he played in all four of his national team’s games so it wouldn’t be a surprise if European clubs were to fight over him when his contract with Frankfurt ends this summer.

Son Heung-min

The English Premier League forward is surely the most recognised player in the South Korean World Cup squad, having played for Tottenham Hotspur since 2015 and for Bayer Leverkusen before that. The Chuncheon-born playmaker moved to Germany when he was 16 to pursue his career and made his debut in the Bundesliga in 2010.

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The South Korea national team captain is often regarded as one of the greatest Asian footballers of all time, and is a symbol of national pride in his home country. He shared the Premier League Golden Boot award in the 2021-2022 season, matching the tally of Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah’s 23 goals, making him the first Asian player to win the award. This summer he was also named brand ambassador for Burberry.

Cho Gue-sung

While the aforementioned footballers were all pretty well known globally before World Cup 2022, 24-year-old South Korean striker Cho Gue-sung is fairly new on the international football scene. Currently playing for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in K League 1, he only made his senior international debut in last year’s World Cup qualifiers.

With his pop-star good looks and his two excellent headed goals against Ghana in South Korea’s second group match in Qatar, he went viral. Cho had around 20,000 followers on Instagram before the World Cup kicked off. Now that number is 2.8 million – and rising.