Celtic star Reo Hatate will get his big Japan opportunity on Tuesday, but it is set to come in a surprising position.
The former Kawasaki Frontale man has had to bide his time at international level under Hajime Moriyasu. For some reason, the Japan coach seems to have it in for Scottish football, and Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi often miss out on squads and game time as a result.
Yet, change may be in the air now as Hatate gets set to start in his country’s friendly against Tunisia. Japan will be big favourites to extend their hugely impressive five-game winning run against the North African side, even if they have some injuries to contend with.
Celtic attacker Daizen Maeda and Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma both pulled out of the squad a week ago, while Keito Nakamura went off injured after a challenge from Alistair Johnston in their recent win over Canada.
Ironically, that Johnston tackle seems to have given Hatate a bit of a breakthrough. He replaced Nakamura in Friday’s match and is now set to take his place in the starting line-up for Tunisia.
As per Sponichi, Moriyasu “clearly announced” at his Monday press conference that Hatate would take Nakamura’s left-wing berth for the match. There is also a reference made to Hatate being a utility player, able to play in a number of positions.
So let’s see how our central midfielder gets on playing in an unfamiliar wing position.
Hatate has played the vast majority of his football in Scotland in the middle of the park. However, he did fill in at right-back for a couple of matches last season and he also featured at left-back on occasion in his J1 League days.
Despite that, it is a surprise to hear that he is set to play on the left-wing. We’ll see how it goes.
