Football

Celtic duo miss out on Japan 2022 World Cup squad

November 1, 2022 11:01 am

Celtic duo Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate have been left out of Japan’s 2022 World Cup squad.

Teammate Daizen Maeda has, however, made the 26-man cut. Interestingly, Maeda has played the fewest minutes out of the three players for Celtic this season.

Maeda has featured for 903 minutes for the Bhoys in all competitions. Hatate has played the most (1,121), followed by Furuhashi (1,014).

Japan

Celtic pair left out by Japan boss

Both Furuhashi and Hatate have settled into life at Celtic Park expertly. The former, who joined the Bhoys last summer, has 49 Celtic appearances to his name.

The latter meanwhile made the switch to Glasgow in December 2021. He has gone on to make 37 appearances for the Scottish outfit.

Both have played for their national team. Furuhashi boasts 16 Japan caps, with Hatate representing his nation once before. Maeda has made eight appearances for the national side.

Despite a strong start to the season for both Furuhashi and Hatate, they have not been selected for the Japan 2022 World Cup squad.

As reported by BBC Sport, Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu explained his reasoning behind the selection process.

“I couldn’t call up everyone who was looking forward to this World Cup, but I thank and honour everyone who has expressed a desire to represent Japan,” he said.

“We selected players who will be on the same wavelength as a team, who will be able to move and link up together, who through their organisation will be able to make use of their individual strengths.”

Three English-based players receive Japan call ups

Two English Premier League players have been selected for the Japan 2022 World Cup squad.

Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma is included in the 26-man squad. He is joined by Arsenal full-back Takehiro Tomiyasu. Also selected is Huddersfield defender Yuta Nakayama.

There is also room for some ex-Premier League players in the Japan squad. Former Liverpool attacker Takumi Minamino, now at Monaco, made the cut.

Ex-Southampton defender Maya Yoshida has also been included. The centre-back will captain his nation in what will be his third World Cup.

Ko Itakura, who spent three years at Manchester City, joins Yoshida in the defensive setup.

Ex-Barcelona and Real Madrid attacker makes cut

Manager Moriyasu has also included young forward Takefusa Kubo in his final squad.

The 21-year-old joined Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy aged nine. He then spent time in Tokyo, before a 2019 move to Real Madrid.

The attacker was loaned out on four occasions during his time with the Spanish giants. He then made a permanent exit to Real Sociedad in the summer.

Kubo has been a regular for Sociedad this season. He has made 16 appearances in all competitions, scoring twice and registering four assists.

The youngster has 19 caps for Japan, and is expected to be a key player for his nation at the 2022 World Cup.

Japan have, however, been handed a hugely difficult test in Qatar. Japan will meet Germany, Spain and Costa Rica in Group E. They kick off their tournament against Germany on 23 November.

The matches against Costa Rica and Spain then take place on 27 November and 1 December respectively.

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