Reo Hatate has opened up on his experiences of playing in the Champions League for Celtic, and the disappointments he's suffered with Japan.
The midfielder is currently on international duty with his country as they look to make sure of their place at the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Hatate netted in Sunday's Glasgow derby, stroking home from inside the box to draw his team level in a match they eventually went on to lose.
His biggest learning curves this season, however, have come away from domestic football.
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Hatate said [Record]: "We’ve played against teams that we can hold the ball and teams that clearly can’t hold the ball, so when we can’t hold the ball, we have to do things like not slacking off in defence and things like that are things that you have to do as a matter of course when you go there.
"So I think that the basic aspects of that are improving. I’ve played all the Champions League games this season, and I feel like I’m doing a great job there.
“It [Munich] was a close margin, but if you look at the result, we lost. I’ve experienced many times that when playing against top-level opponents, small differences can produce big results and I felt that again.
"However, I feel that there are many areas where I’m doing well, so I hope I can incorporate that into my national team."
Japan face Bahrain and Saudi Arabia this month.
Hatate has made the trip back to Asia alongside his club teammate, Daizen Maeda.
The attacker is a key figure for his country and has 22 caps to his name, unlike Hatate, who has only turned out for Japan 10 times.
"Personally, I know I’m on the edge of being able to play," he said.
"Unlike other players, I’ve had a lot of disappointments since coming here [to the national team], so I just do what I have to do.
"There’s nothing I can do about things I can’t do, so I just want to do what I can. If I get a chance, I hope I can play well."
