Shoji Jo, a Japanese legend, believes Kyogo’s World Cup snub is well deserved. This is because he’s not half the player for his country as he was for his club.
Japan has rejected Kyogo for Qatar, but former striker Shoji Yo believes his performances for Japan were worthy.
Hajime Moriyasu called up Daizen Maeda, the only Celtic star. Reo Hatate and Kyogo surprisingly stayed at home. They have been a great success under Ange Postecoglou, with Kyogo scoring 11 goals in just 20 games before the break.
Despite his excellent free-scoring record since joining Celtic 18months ago, Kyogo has only three goals in 16 caps for Japan – failing to score in any of his 11 international runs-outs. Jo believes he is not half the player for Japan, despite his incredible performance in Scotland.
Jo stated to AS Spanish outlet: “Furuhashi played well for Celtic this year. He hasn’t been able give the Japan team even half the performance he gave in Scotland. Furuhashi is not able to play in advantageous situations because there isn’t a passer in the squad.
Japan’s Maeda will discover on Thursday night if they qualify for the knockout stage. However, Kyogo (and Hatate) have remained with Postecoglou and will soon be joined in their ranks by Yuki Kobayashi, a new countryman. They will face Rennes on Saturday, December 10, before returning to Premiership action against Aberdeen one week later.
