After going down to Erik’s opener in the first half, Park’s men scored three times in the second half through Kim Tae-hwan, Kim Min-woo and Han Seok-jong before substitute Ado Onaiwu gave the Japanese side late hope with an added time header but it proved in vain.

It looms a blockbuster battle worthy of a continental decider, but the clash between two of the East zone’s two most impressive outfits comes at the quarter-final stage, with one of the pair set to be abruptly eliminated.

The two sides had met twice in the group stage with Kyogo Furuhashi’s added time strike winning the first leg for Vissel Kobe back in February and Suwon Samsung Bluewings responding with a 2-0 win on the final matchday that sealed their place in the knock-out stage at the expense of Guangzhou Evergrande.

A number of players have shone for the four sides so far in Qatar, with performances that have helped their respective teams reach the quarter-finals and keep the dream of being crowned 2020 Continental champions alive.

With Thursday's encounters fast approaching, the-AFC.com has selected four players who could be the difference between making the semi-finals or heading home.

Doha: Suwon Samsung Bluewings' Kim Tae-hwan has been voted by the fans as the 2020 AFC Champions League (East) Toyota Player of the Week after an excellent display in his side's come-from-behind 3-2 Round of 16 win over Yokohama F. Marinos as the K League 1 team advanced to the quarter-finals.

The midfielder, who amassed 50 percent of the fans' votes, drilled home Suwon's equaliser with a superb strike from outside the box just before the hour mark with his first goal of the campaign, He earned an 8.0 rating from Stats Perform – the AFC's official data provider.

In a week of hat-tricks and history, the continent’s international stars were in unstoppable form. This week’s 10 contenders produced a combined total of 15 goals, four assists and countless other highlights, with several other worthy candidates unlucky not to be nominated.

So just who was Asia’s best player outside the continent? Here are our perfect 10 from December 3 to 9.