There were more than a few raised eyebrows when two Celtic players missed out on a place in Japan’s World Cup Squad. Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi were both hopeful of a place on the plane to Qatar, but were left out, despite their roles in the Hoops’ Premiership winning campaign last season.
Yet, there seems to be renewed hope for Hatate, that he could still find himself in the Japan national team’s squad and might yet get a late call up to join the squad.
As reported by Nikkan Sports, Yuta Nakayama, who was picked in the squad to represent Japan at the World Cup has been seriously injured. He has picked up an Achilles tendon injury that requires surgery. Thus, he will no longer be part of the tournament. One of the candidates to replace him is Hatate, who has played as a left-back for his nation at the Olympics in the past.
Of course, since moving to Celtic, he has exclusively been used as a midfielder by Ange Postecoglou, but back in Japan, he was no stranger to playing on the left-side of defence.
Celtic’s Hatate could get late call up to Japan’s World Cup squad
Japan national team coach, Hajime Moriyasu, gave Hatate his full national debut in March this year and is now leading the full squad into the World Cup.
So the Japanese manager does know what Hatate can offer and the player understands the way Moriyasu wants his teams to play.
One also cannot overlook the fact that Hatate could work as cover in the middle of the park as well, and even if Moriyasu does not see him as a starter, he is definitely an excellent player to have as a back up option.
It’s likely to still be a long shot but the option of Hatate, who can certainly offer much in the midfield plus provide potential defensive cover, may well be a good way forward for Moriyasu.