Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi got the better of their Celtic team-mate Alistair Johnston on Friday.
The two Japan stars were second-half substitutes as their country battered Canada 4-1 in a friendly in Niiigata. The likes of Ao Tanaka and Keito Nakamura were on target for the hosts on a miserable evening for Johnston.
The Celtic full-back was booked, at fault for a goal, and guilty of injuring Nakamura — who was replaced by Hatate after 60 minutes. It wasn’t his best evening by any stretch, although it isn’t likely to linger for too long.
Before the game, Johnston and Hatate shared a pre-match embrace. The moment was caught on camera and shared by the official Canada Soccer account. (@CanadaSoccerEN on Twitter)
It’s obviously not clear what the pair said to each other but is extremely likely to have been small talk and a few jokes. Maybe they spoke about the weather or something.
Japan have now won five straight matches and scored a remarkable 22 goals in that time. They’ve netted at least four in every one of those games, including against top-level opposition like Germany. They are one of the form sides in international football right now.
Given how good Hatate, Kyogo and Daizen Maeda have been for us since signing, it’s really no surprise to hear that the Japan national team are so good.
They will be big favourites to beat Tunisia on Tuesday. Canada, meanwhile, have no more matches during this break. Johnston will soon be back with Celtic.
In other news, Celtic’s Champions League opponents have fan bans dished out
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