Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate are back from the international wilderness after being called up to the Japan squad.
The Celtic duo were shock omissions from Hajime Moriyasu’s squad for the 2022 World Cp in Qatar last year and have missed out on subsequent call-ups. The Samurai Blue boss bizarrely explained Daizen Maeda, who was included, was playing at a higher level than his clubmates, despite Kyogo leading the goalscoring charts and Hatate continuing to shine for the Hoops.
But now they are back in from the cold after being called up for the country’s Kirin Cup squad, a tournament Scotland won back in 2006. Moriyasu undertook a tour of Europe earlier this year in order to run the rule over his stars, but neglected to include a trip to see the Scottish champions. The trio have made the cut this time, but there’s no place for compatriots Tomoki Iwata or Yuki Kobayashi however, as they continue to settle into their new surroundings after being signed in January.
Kyogo is leading a three-way battle for the Scottish Premiership golden boot. The Celtic striker is on 25 league goals for the season, but has Hearts’ Lawrence Shankland and Motherwell’s Kevin Van Veen breathing down his neck on 24 after both scored against Rangers and Livingston respectively on Wednesday night.
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