Reo Hatate Receives Tuesday Night Blow

Having been left out of the matchday squad for both of Japan’s matches, Reo Hatate has had a disappointing international break.
Reo Hatate found out on Tuesday night that he was again left out of the matchday squad for Japan’s match against Bahrain, following his exclusion from the team that played China. [SofaScore]

Despite being selected for the World Cup qualifying matches against Bahrain and China by manager Hajime Moriyasu.

Even following the 7-0 triumph over China, he may have expected to play a few minutes against Bahrain, but this omission still occurs.

Hatate’s decision to not play and rack up a lot of travel miles without seeing any game action has prompted concerns about the value of having him on the team. Although Kyogo is rarely called up, another Scottish Premiership player, Daizen Maeda, was called up and used in the games, despite Moriyasu’s prior concerns about the quality of the Scottish Premiership influencing his selections.

Hatate could be more frustrated by this inconsistent selection process, as well as by the unnecessary travel and lost training opportunities back at Celtic. He could have gained more from staying in Glasgow for more training sessions with Brendan Rodgers.
Maeda, on the other hand, has started the game on the bench and hasn’t yet entered the action as of halftime. He came on against China and scored with a header.