Australian international Martin Boyle opened 2025 with a brace for Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership while Japan’s Keito Nakamura scored a consolation goal for Ligue 1 club Reims in their 3-1 loss to St. Etienne.
Join the-AFC.com as we take a look at what Asia’s finest have been up to in Europe this past week.
Scotland: Boyle marks new year with a double
Martin Boyle opened 2025 with two goals in Hibernian’s 3-3 draw with Rangers on Sunday. The Australian scored in the 33rd minute to put his club back in the game and then slotted home a 61st-minute penalty to draw his side level at 2-2.
His compatriots Lewis Millar, Jack Iredale and Nectarios Triantis also played the full game against Rangers, whose three goals came from Morocco’s Hamza Igamane.
The Japanese trio of Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda took to the pitch for Celtic in their 3-0 loss against Rangers earlier in the week.
The defending champions, however, bounced back on Sunday with a 3-0 win against St. Mirren, with Maeda starting the match and Hatate and Furuhashi coming on in the 70th and 83rd minutes respectively.
Australian international Josh Nisbet started back-to-back matches for Ross County in their 2-1 win against Aberdeen and 1-0 victory against Kilmarnock.
His compatriot Ryan Strain played the full 90 minutes for Dundee United in their 2-1 win against neighbours Dundee FC. Strain made another full appearance in the 1-0 loss to Hearts, who fielded his compatriots Kye Rowles and Cameron Devlin.
England: Bad week for Asian stars
Korea Republic’s Kim Ji-soo came on in the 75th minute in Brentford’s 3-1 loss to Arsenal on Thursday, a result that left his club in 11th position with 27 points.
His compatriot Son Heung-min replaced Timo Werner in the 62nd minute as Tottenham Hotspur fell 2-1 to Newcastle United.
Japanese national Yukinari Sugawara came on in the 46th minute in Southampton’s 5-0 defeat by Brentford on Saturday.
In Monday’s action, Korea Republic’s Hwang Hee-chan played 75 minutes in Wolverhampton’s 3-0 defeat at the hands of high-flying Nottingham Forest.
Italy: Suzuki keeps clean sheet for Parma
Japan custodian Zion Suzuki held his own between the posts as Parma settled for a point in a goalless draw with Torino.
Eldor Shomurodov came on in the 74th minute for AS Roma as the Uzbekistan international helped his side to a 2-0 derby win against Lazio 2-0, a result which sees the club move to 10th in Serie A on 23 points.
Indonesia’s national team captain Jay Idzes played the full match for Venezia in their 1-1 draw with Empoli. The result left Venezia second from bottom in the standings with 14 points from 19 matches.
France: Nakamura’s lucky seven
Keito Nakamura scored the only goal for Reims in their 3-1 loss to St Etienne, taking the Japanese international’s tally to seven goals this season. His compatriot and teammate Junya Ito was also involved in the match.
Australia’s Denis Genreau came on in the 83rd minute in Lens’ 1-0 defeat by Toulouse, a result which sees his club positioned seventh in the standings with 24 points from 16 games.
Japan’s Ado Onaiwu came on in the 74th minute in Auxerre’s 3-1 loss to Strasbourg.
