Japan World Cup hero Marcus Tulio Tanaka reckons his country should ditch Celtic star Daizen Maeda for the World Cup and replace him with Kyogo.
Kyogo was left floored last week when Japan announced their squad for the tournament in Qatar and he wasn't in it, with Celtic colleague Reo Hatate also overlooked. Maeda made the final cut despite having only scored one goal for his country in eight appearances, along with fellow strikers Takuma Asano from Bochum and Cercle Brugge's Ayase Ueda.
And Brazilian-born Tanaka - who played for Japan in the 2010 World Cup - reckons Japan boss Hajime Moriyasu picked the wrong Celtic player. He said: "The three strikers that have been included in the squad - none of them are good enough. I keep reading that Maeda was included because he presses and he has world class speed. Strikers don't need to press, they need to score goals. It's a really strange way of thinking. All three strikers are the same type. No matter who starts, they aren't good enough.
"Personally, I would have included Kyogo Furuhashi in the squad. Yuya Osako should have been included too. If I was the manager, I would be deciding between Furuhashi or Osako as starters, the three strikers that are in the squad wouldn't have been selected.
"Of course, I will be cheering on Japan in Qatar. I will support Japan until I die. But I fear the worst with the squad we have picked."
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