Europe Wrap: Matildas duo win League Cup with Arsenal; Azmoun on target for Leverkusen

Iranian striker Sardar Azmoun was on the scoresheet for the second week running in Germany as Bayer Leverkusen defeated Hertha BSC 4-1, while Japan’s Kaoru Mitoma delivered a man-of-the-match performance for Brighton & Hove Albion in their latest Premier League victory.

Japanese youngster Ayase Ueda bagged a brace for Cercle Brugge in Belgium, Celtic’s Korean forward Oh Hyeon-gyu netted his first league goal in Scotland while his compatriot Hwang In-beom produced a stunner in Greece, so join the-AFC.com as we look back at how the Asian stars performed in Europe over the past week.

Having watched their early lead turn into a 2-1 defeat against Japan in their first match, head coach Antonio Puche’s men left no room for doubt in their second outing, collecting the three points to stay in the race for a place in the quarter-finals.

A 72nd minute penalty from Kodai Sano was followed by Naoki Kumata’s third of the tournament three minutes later while Isa Sakamoto concluded the scoring five minute from time as the Japanese moved to the verge of the quarter-finals.

The defeat was a cruel blow for Kyrgyz Republic, who were rarely troubled by the Japanese until the Samurai Blue ruthlessly increased the tempo in the final quarter of the game.

The Lions of Mesopotamia enter the Tuesday game with more significant hopes of qualification to the next round than their opponents, having collected three points against Indonesia in the opening match before losing 1-0 to hosts Uzbekistan.

A win will confirm Iraq’s place in the next round regardless of the result of the simultaneous clash between Uzbekistan and Indonesia in Fergana, while any other result could complicate matters for Mohammed’s men.

Uzbekistan, who kept clean sheets in their victories over Syria and Iraq, will be looking to cement their place at the top of the standings when they face an Indonesian side needing a win to boost their quarter-final hopes.

Iran trail leaders Vietnam by three points and a win for the Central Asian side will surely boost their chances of qualification into the knockout stage, with a possibility of a three-way tie for first place if Australia also defeat Qatar in Group B’s other fixture.

Morgan and his team have moved from Fergana to Tashkent for their final Group B match and, after kicking off with a 1-0 loss against Vietnam, the Australians are looking for a second successive win to follow up their 3-2 victory over the Iranians on Matchday Two.