Japan boss Hajime Moriyasu headed to Glasgow for talks with Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou and the Hoops' Japanese players last ahead of their crucial World Cup double-header next month.
And he's revealed injured Hoops star Kyogo Furuhashi is improving but isn't guaranteed to make his squad next month.
Japan face make-or-break qualifiers at the end of next month against Australia and Vietnam in Sydney and Saitama for a place in Qatar.
The second game against the Vietnamese takes place just a few days before Celtic play Rangers at Ibrox in a crucial Premiership clash.
Moriyasu embarked on a tour of Europe to meet his Japanese players last week, arriving back yesterday and revealed he went to Glasgow to meet with Postecoglou and Parkhead chiefs.
Last month, he only called up Celtic's Daizen Maeda for their Qatar 2022 matches against China and Saudi Arabia, but he's not ruled out including more of Celtic's Japanese contingent, after meeting them.
He said: "Kyogo Furuhashi is doing well in his recovery progress, but is not ready to play yet. His rehabilitation is going well. I'll look at his situation nearer the qualifiers and consider whether I will call him up.
"I met with 13 players in Europe and I wanted to visit the players who weren't in the last squad. Those included Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate from Celtic.
"There is limited time before the next two matches and I wanted to speak to as many of the players who could be in the squad as possible.
"I spoke with Ange Postecoglou too and the Celtic CEO. I am very proud of the success of Celtic's Japanese players because they have been delighted with them.
"Ange told me he understood the importance of the matches and he had been impressed with the way the Japanese team is improving and how we work with players."
Furuhashi - who has scored 16 goals in 26 Celtic appearances - hasn't featured since limping off early in their Boxing Day win at St Johnstone.
