Japan boss Hajime Moriyasu has been told if he has better players than Celtic's Reo Hatate, then he should be winning the World Cup.
That is the view of baffled former Celtic man Frank McAvennie who says the exclusion of the Hoops midfielder is a shocking decision ahead of crucial games for the Samurai Blue. Parkhead pal and SPFL top scorer Kyogo Furuhashi was also snubbed again for his country after missing out on the World Cup despite a red-hot season in front of goal for Ange Postecoglou's men.
Only nifty attacker Daizen Maeda made the cut, after he was in the Qatar squad and scored in the knockouts, and could face Uruguay and Colombia this month. Maeda already has 12 caps for his nation and will be the only one of a Parkhead group off on international duty.
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McAvennie can hardly believe the decision but also insists that new boy Tomoki Iwata has been overlooked in the squad announcement, despite being last year's J-League player of the year.
He told Football Insider: “The manager was saying that he knows what they can do but he is trying to build a team for 2026 but for me it is a bit stupid.
“If he has got better players than Hatate then they will win the World Cup.
“They have not taken [Tomoki] Iwata either who was the best player in the J-League last year. It is a weird one for me that players like that are not in it. It is baffling.“
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