CELTIC fans would have been hoping to see a couple of their stars feature for Japan during this international break.
But those tuning in to Thursday’s 7-0 rout over China would have been disappointed to see Daizen Maeda being the only representative from the Hoops in that match.
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Reo Hatate has also been called up by Hajime Moriyasu but he was not included in the manager’s squad for their first World Cup qualifier last week.
Kyogo Furuhashi on the other hand was snubbed once again by the gaffer and stayed in Glasgow while his two Celtic team-mates travelled across the globe to represent their nation.
However, it has turned out to be a pretty pointless trip for Hatate.
That’s because he has been left out by Moriyasu AGAIN for Japan‘s second qualifier with Bahrain today.
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The manager had called up 27 players to travel to Asia for the nation’s training camp for their World Cup double-header.
But he can only name 23 players in his match-day squads and Hatate has missed the cut for both clashes.
Moriyasu has opted for an unchanged 23-man squad for the match against Bahrain following their 7-0 win on Thursday.
But although Japan fans are behind their manager after yet another stunning performance last week, many have spoken out and revealed their frustration at Hatate being left out once again.
One fan took to social media to admit they are “worried” for the midfielder, while others have sent him messages of support following his latest snub.
Posting on X, someone wrote: “I’m worried for Reo Hatate after missing another game.”
Another puzzled fan commented: “He was called from Scotland to Japan, went all the way to Bahrain, and still can’t even make it to the bench. It must be tough for him mentally. I wonder what Coach Moriyasu is thinking.”
A third confessed: “Reo Hatate isn’t on the bench again. I’m disappointed.”
While reacting to the team selection, a fourth questioned: “As for Hatate, why isn’t he even on the bench? I don’t see the need to use two reserve goalkeeper slots.”
It isn’t the first time the Celtic midfielder has missed out on a place in Moriyasu’s squad.
Hatate wasn’t selected by the manager for the World Cup in Qatar and he was so devastated to miss out that he couldn’t even watch their games.
Opening up on his heartache after the tournament, he said: “I have now faced my feelings about the World Cup in Qatar.
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“On the day that the Japanese squad was announced, I was still in Scotland and could not see it live.
“Prior to that, I thought I wouldn’t be selected because I did not get a chance to participate in the last game before the announcement.
“However, when the members were announced and my name wasn’t there, I didn’t think, ‘As expected’.
“It was frustrating and when I returned to Japan after Celtic gave me time off, I didn’t watch our group games live.
“I did that to rest my body, as I had been playing a lot since July last year.
“But now that I’ve sorted out my feelings, looking back, I think that the reason I was tired was only half of it.
“The other half was frustration and I couldn’t honestly watch the games.
As time passed, I was able to sort out my feelings, and I felt I had to watch Japan’s games.
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“So when I got back to Glasgow, I reviewed all of the three group stage games again.
“Then I watched the Japan-Croatia match in the round of 16 live.
“I saw my former Kawasaki team-mate Kaoru Mitoma show his characteristics.
“The person I respected even more was Shogo Taniguchi, who prepared himself in the best possible way.
“He is a person who didn’t cut corners on post-match recovery, and always did what he was supposed to do.
“It’s easy to say that’s easy, but it’s never easy to do the obvious things, including preparation and care.
“Like Kaoru, he has always been careful with his diet and worked hard.
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“When I saw Shogo on the pitch at the World Cup, I was reminded of the fact that if you can do everything you can, the accumulation of that leads to opportunities.
“As a result, there were many things I felt and learned from the Japan matches and I am using them now.”
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