Celtic winger, Daizen Maeda has made a goalscoring return to international duty with a well-taken goal in the 4-1 win against Peru in the Kirin Cup.
Maeda was an unused substitute in Thursday’s 6-0 demolition of El Salvador in which Kyogo Furuhashi scored, but today, the 25-year-old was brought on in the 59th minute and took just 15 minutes to get on the scoresheet.
You can view the goal here. It was a cool finish by Maeda as he peeled off his defenders and beat the offside trap in a run that was very Kygo-esque.
That was Maeda’s third goal in 13 appearances for the Samurai Blues and the Celtic star is showing why Hajime Moriyasu sees him as an integral part of his squad.
Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate both started the match as Moriyasu lined up in a 4-1-4-1 formation.
Kyogo led the line as Hatate played in his familiar central midfield role. Unfortunately, neither could add to their goal tally as Japan coasted to yet another impressive international result.
It seems that the Celtic trio have impressed in this international window. Certainly, Hatate and Kyogo have proven their worth and Maeda has provided what he has always done for Moriyasu with an industrious and effective second-half appearance.
Hopefully, now, this will be the start of regular international call-ups for Kyogo and Hatate as their club form has proven just how effective they are when they play together.
And who knows, Tomoki Iwata could be next to join the Japan national squad if he can get a decent run in the Celtic team next season. Iwata has represented his country four times and the former J League MVP will be looking to add to that tally sooner rather than later.
In other news, Report: English Championship teams are interested in Celtic fringe player
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