

On Tuesday morning, manager Hajime Moriyasu announced his 27-man squad, and while Celtic forward Daizen Maeda made the cut, his club teammates Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate won't be travelling to Qatar with him. Hatate's exclusion is not all that shocking given that he has only had one cap and that Japan is strong in centre midfield, but the omission of Furuhashi, who has received 16 caps and scored three goals, may raise questions.
In response to his pick, Japan manager Moriyasu said: “I thank and honour everyone who has expressed a desire to represent Japan. I couldn't call up everyone who was looking forward to this World Cup. There are many excellent players, regardless of how many we may select, so even if we had to select 30 guys, the choices would be challenging.”