Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate have NOT been included in Japan's latest squad - but Daizen Maeda keeps his place for the Kirin Challenge Cup.
National team boss Hajime Moriyasu has named his pool for the clashes with Uruguay at the Tokyo National Stadium and Colombia at the Yodoka Sakura Stadium in Osaka but despite their red-hot club form for Ange Postecoglou, the Hoops duo are once again left out. They both suffered World Cup heartbreak earlier this year.
Celtic star man Kyogo has fired 26 goals in all competitions this season for the Scottish champions including 20 Premiership strikes. He was the hero in the League Cup Final win over Rangers as his double at Hampden secured a 2-1 win and the first piece of silverware of the campaign with the Hoops looking to land a domestic Treble this campaign.
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Hatate is another who is a mainstay in the team and has got better and better over the past 12 months since his move to Scotland from the J-League. He is a key member of the midfield alongside skipper Callum McGregor and Aaron Mooy. He is another with impressive numbers this campaign with eight goals and nine assists to date.
Celtic will be represented in the shape of Maeda who had an impressive World Cup campaign. His involvement comes after he sustained an injury against Hearts in the Premiership last week. He hurt his knee in the clash but posted a social media rall cry declaring he was 'ready to fight'.
Explaining his decision Moriyasu - as quoted by the Daily Record - he said: "I've watched all of Celtic's games and seen what they've accomplished and their presence in the team. But there's no bar to clear to be called up; it's a comprehensive decision.
"We think about the level of the league and various other factors when making the decision. For this squad we focused on the squad from Qatar as well as some new players. There will be other call-ups. As I said, we're trying to build strongest team possible ahead of 2026
"In order to do that we're taking a wide view of how to build the team... as I think we all agree, (Hatate and Kyogo) would absolutely be able to contribute to the team, but this time I wanted to try out some different players and that's why they weren't selected."
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