As the fallout of the international results continues, Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi, has certainly left his mark on his home country after helping Japan to finally overcome Australia in their 2-1 yesterday afternoon.
The Japanese Head Coach, Hajime Moriyasu, has come under fire for not starting Kyogo against Australia and there has been grumblings that he is too conservative in his approach to Japan’s fixtures.
He was heavily criticised in the Japanese Times following defeats to Oman and Saudi Arabia and even a win against China did not appease the national media outlet after Japan’s worst start to a World Cup qualification campaign since 1998.
Which is why they are calling on their manager to now look to Furuhashi to be deployed as their main striker when the writer said, “Yet a bit more bravery — for example replacing starting striker Yuya Osako, a technical wizard who against the Socceroos was incapable of hitting the side of a barn, with Celtic standout Kyogo Furuhashi — might have resulted in a second and maybe even third goal before halftime.”
And this is a view shared by Japanese legend Keisuke Honda when he spoke of Kyogo in glowing terms prior to the match yesterday, “It’s clear we are a better team with Kyogo Furuhashi in it and not just in it, but playing as a striker.
“For me, he would have been the key to success when we played Australia, but he didn’t even start.
“He is very fast, can score goals and causes many problems for defences. He would be my first pick in the Japanese team.”
All this is good and bad news for Celtic fans. Good in the fact as they know they have a highly rated player on their hands but bad in that now the Japanese media know that their future lies with Kyogo which means more international duty for their star striker.