Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Mark Walker

Daizen Maeda rubbished amid stinging 'wrong Celtic striker' verdict as Kyogo World Cup snub dumbfounds

Japan World Cup hero Marcus Tulio Tanaka reckons his country should ditch Celtic star Daizen Maeda for the World Cup and replace him with Kyogo.

Kyogo was left floored last week when Japan announced their squad for the tournament in Qatar and he wasn't in it, with Celtic colleague Reo Hatate also overlooked. Maeda made the final cut despite having only scored one goal for his country in eight appearances, along with fellow strikers Takuma Asano from Bochum and Cercle Brugge's Ayase Ueda.

And Brazilian-born Tanaka - who played for Japan in the 2010 World Cup - reckons Japan boss Hajime Moriyasu picked the wrong Celtic player. He said: "The three strikers that have been included in the squad - none of them are good enough. I keep reading that Maeda was included because he presses and he has world class speed. Strikers don't need to press, they need to score goals. It's a really strange way of thinking. All three strikers are the same type. No matter who starts, they aren't good enough.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.