Kyogo Furuhashi’s absence from the starting eleven during Japan’s World Cup Qualifier on Thursday hasn’t gone done well with fans of the national team.
Indeed, it’s causing a bit of drama in the media too, with former international Masakiyo Maezono firing out with withering criticism of manager Hajime Moriyasu after a damaging defeat.
He feels the failure to start Kyogo, then use him on the left wing instead of through the middle from the bench, was a major failing of the game plan against Saudi Arabia.
As quoted by The Daily Record, Maezono said: “Why did we not start Kyogo Furuhashi? He’s fit enough to start for Celtic so he should be fit enough for us.
“It was bad enough not playing him, but then when he did come on, he was stuck on the left wing and was unable to have any influence on the game.
“It makes no sense to not play him in a position where he scores goals. The manager needs to start using players in their correct position or else we have no chance of qualifying for the World Cup.”
Celtic supporters will recognise the criticism from what they’ve seen in Scotland too. Kyogo is far more deadly stretching defenders in the central areas than being stuck with the ball on the wing.
With Saudi Arabia defending a lead, Kyogo could have definitely used his movement to cause havoc and look for an equaliser.
It’ll be interesting to see if Moriyasu listens to the criticism with Japan hosting Australia on Tuesday night. That’s a must-win match for the country and it’d be a waste of Kyogo if he is again on the bench.
In other news, Celtic announce new commercial partnership.
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