In December 2018, Minamino was one of 23 Japanese players selected for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. In January 2019, he made his Asian Cup debut against Turkmenistan, providing an assist. In the semi-final against Iran, Minamino was Japan's star as he assisted twice and won his team a penalty, which was successfully converted by Yuya Osako. He scored his first ever Asian Cup goal in the final against Qatar, but ended up losing 3–1. Minamino made a total of 6 appearances in the tournament. Minamino went on to score five more goals by the end of 2019.