Celtic’s star forward Kyogo Furuhashi has spoken after he was dramatically left out of Japan’s squad for the upcoming Qatar World Cup.
The 27-year-old was expected to be rewarded for his fine form this season, indeed his fine form since his move to Paradise from Vissel Kobe last summer, with a place in the Samurai Blue squad for the tournament but was not selected by manager Hajime Moriyasu.
There was little time for the striker to digest the news, as Celtic were faced with a trip to face Real Madrid to finish their Champions League Group F campaign, and Kyogo revealed how he was able to approach the game correctly despite receiving the blow less than 36 hours before kick-off in the Bernabeu.
As reported by Kyodo News, he said: “Like always, my mind was on the things I could do to help the team, I wasn’t especially thinking about anything, just that each game is one game, and it’s important to stay focused on what’s in front of you.”
When asked what more he can do to ensure his selection going forward, the striker said: “I think all I can do is develop more and get my preparations right.”
Despite stating that he felt “nothing special” going into the Bernabeu game, Kyogo also revealed that he hadn’t had time to fully discuss the squad with Daizen Maeda, after his teammate became the sole Celtic representative in Japan’s squad for Qatar.
He said: “Well, I only just saw him before the game, so I said, ‘Congratulations,” and he said, ‘Thank you very much,’ and that was about it.”
Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi have both previously been involved with the national team and both were also left out by Moriyasu, although given their lack of recent selection this was far less of a surprise than Kyogo’s omission.
Though it’s a blow for three of Celtic’s Japanese stars, Maeda’s inclusion in the squad demonstrates that neither club nor league should be a bottleneck going forward for their international careers, however Moriyasu chooses to justify his selections to the players.
Kyogo’s mindset is as pleasing as it is unsurprising, and he can return from the Scottish Premiership break refreshed and hopefully ready to fire Celtic to further silverware in the new year.
In other news: Celtic Park preparing for a domestic first this weekend vs Dundee United
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