What Japan staff told Hajime Moriyasu about Kyogo Furuhashi as Celtic hero earns call-up

Add as preferred source on Google

Celtic hero Kyogo Furuhashi’s international career has taken a bit of a dip over the last two seasons or so.

Despite being one of Celtic’s best players and Kyogo being courted by Man City recently, the Japanese striker has been snubbed by Hajime Moriyasu on the international stage.

Kyogo’s last cap for Japan was when the Celtic talisman scored in a 2-0 win over Tunisia back in October 2023.

Since then, Moriyasu set a Champions League target for Kyogo as the Japan boss threw a gauntlet down to the Hoops striker on how to get back into his plans.

And now that Kyogo has received the Japan call-up this morning, Moriyasu has explained clearly why the Celtic hero has been given the nod after a year-long hiatus.

Kyogo Furuhashi’s Champions League Celtic ‘presence’

The Japan boss had been criticised previously in the press for omitting Kyogo from previous Japan squads but this time it appears that Moriyasu just couldn’t ignore what the Celtic striker has been doing on the big stage for the Parkhead club.

Moriyasu told Abema Times, “It has been difficult to call him up recently, but his performances have always been checked by the staff, who have been watching Celtic games on the field and watching video footage of every game as long as they can go.

“Needless to say, he has achieved results so far at Celtic and in Europe. I have chosen him because he plays with a presence that makes the team win.

“He may be considered as a replacement for Ueda, but I have selected him not as a replacement, but as a player I should select, as I usually look at him as a candidate player.

“I think he is a player who can match and finish with pinpoint accuracy in front of goal. I want him to play boldly so that he can show his quality in front of goal, and I also want the team to be able to make the most of his good qualities. We want to work so that we can broaden the range for both sides.”

Hajime Moriyasu tells Japan players to follow Celtic blueprint and use Kyogo’s ‘strengths’

And it seems that Kyogo is going to be the focal point in the Japan team as Moriyasu looks to defeat Indonesia and China in the international break.

“We ask CF (centre forward) to get behind the opponent first,” continues Moriyasu, “And if we can’t do that, we need to be the starting point, and our aim as a team remains the same.

“If we can take advantage of his strengths and increase the variety of attacks, the team will also improve.

“In his most recent Champions League match, he was able to get out of the back of the opposition’s defensive line and tactics.

“I want them to take advantage of that kind of movement to aim for goals in a straight line, and I want to make the most of it.”

So from this it looks like the Celtic striker, if her performs well, could become a mainstay in the Japan team moving forward.

Let’s hope that he Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda all return injury-free because Celtic have a tricky fixture schedule to negotiate from now until the end of December.