Celtic winger Daizen Maeda is hopeful his experiences against world-class opposition can help him improve and feature at another World Cup in four years’ time.
The 24-year-old took part in all four of Japan’s games out in Qatar, making three starts in the group and knockout stages.
Maeda was even able to grab a goal at this year’s World Cup, scoring to put his nation 1-0 up in their last 16 tie against Croatia.
Unfortunately for the Celtic man and his teammates, their World Cup journey came to an end in the first knockout round, losing out on penalties.
Despite the disappointment, Maeda can be proud of his performances out in Qatar, facing up against world-class opposition such as Spain and Germany.
Speaking in an interview in the days after suffering defeat to Croatia, Maeda admitted it was a tough result to take, but he is determined to improve and come back stronger in four years’ time.
The former Yokohama F Marinos man was proud of aspects of his performance against some world-class opponents, and he is hoping that can help him improve going forward.
He said [Asahi as translated by DeepL]: “It’s not easy to sort out, but the next battle is in four years’ time, so I want to practise more and more what I’m lacking in preparation for that so that I can hit them in four years’ time.”
“I think a lot of people supported me to get on that pitch, so I wanted to stand on the pitch with a sense of gratitude to all those people, but I’m really disappointed that we didn’t win.”
“I think my speed and the pressure from the front was good even against world-class opponents, so I hope I can improve that even more and score more goals.”
“I didn’t really think I would even make it into this World Cup, so I want to be very conscious of the next four years.”
Celtic can see the benefits of solid World Cup showing and future hopes from Daizen Maeda.
Although there was disappointment for Maeda to exit the prestigious tournament, it is now clearly a motivational factor as he aims to perform even better in four years’ time.
Celtic can be the beneficiaries of that success, with Maeda looking to put in strong performances for club and country over the next few years.
The Hoops attacker has come up against some top-quality opposition this season at both the World Cup and in the UEFA Champions League.
Playing against world-class opposition will only help Maeda improve going forward as he continues to learn and develop important aspects of his game.
The Japanese international is also working under a brilliant manager at Parkhead, who he has a close relationship with, and he will be willing to try and learn every day.
Celtic supporters would have been delighted to see Maeda doing so well out at the World Cup. And now, we could start to see even more benefits from that on his return to Glasgow.
In other news, The reason behind Celtic’s Adidas kit switch for up-and-coming SPFL clash.
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