Kyogo Furuhashi: ‘My ambition, with or without the national team, remains unchanged’

Japan’s compelling World Cup story has captured hearts and minds aplenty — but Kyogo Furuhashi believes that missing out being a part of it will only make him stronger.

National team manager Hajime Moriyasu’s decision not to select the Celtic forward in his World Cup squad was a surprise in Scotland due to Kyogo’s goalscoring form domestically.

Although Kyogo has already scored 10 times in just 13 Scottish Premiership matches this season, he hasn’t been able to replicate this on the international stage. Kyogo made his debut for Japan in November 2019 and has found the net just three times in 16 appearance since then.

He didn’t score in any of his six games  in Japan’s final round of World Cup qualification. He was unavailable due to injury for the last four games of the qualifying stage and, once fit, failed to find the net in a few recent friendlies.

As a result, Kyogo’s snub was not quite as much of a shock in Japan and Moriyasu’s squad selection and approach to the tournament has paid off as the Samurai Blue have topped Group E with stirring wins over Germany and Spain, progressing to the knockout stage for the second World Cup in a row.

Speaking before the tournament began, and reflecting on his omission and how he deals with such difficult moments, Kyogo says: “My family and friends have been very supportive.

“Even though they’re not all here in Glasgow, they’ve been a huge support to me and I think a player with that experience can only get stronger.

“I would like to develop further and I will also come out of this experience strengthened.”

Kyogo’s Celtic colleague Reo Hatate was also left out by Moriyasu, whereas Daizen Maeda was picked and started Japan’s two victories over Germany and Spain.

“I haven’t talked much to other Japanese players about the nomination this time,” Kyogo says. “I briefly congratulated Daizen Maeda and immediately focused on the next game with Celtic.

“Either way, my motivation remains the same: I want to score as many goals as possible for my club and do my best so that our club wins games, and as many titles as possible. The World Cup would have been an extension of my way with our club.

“That’s why my ambition — whether with or without the national team — remains unchanged.”

Kyogo’s Japan snub came despite the 27-year-old enjoying another successful season so far for Celtic.

Since signing for the club from Vissel Kobe in July 2021, Kyogo has scored 31 goals in 53 appearances and has recently picked up an impactful habit of scoring early and late in games for Celtic.

The opening goal in Celtic’s win over Motherwell on November 9 was the sixth occasion on which Kyogo had scored within the first 15 minutes of a league match this season.

Just days earlier, against Dundee United, he had embodied Celtic’s never-say-die spirit under Ange Postecoglou by scoring the late buffer goal in a 4-2 victory.

“As a team, we know exactly how we want to play,” he says.

“Regardless of whether it’s in the first minute or in the 90th minute, we want to actively defend from the front, pressing on the opponent’s defensive line and attack the opposition player on the ball — like a pressing wave.

“I also scored some late goals when I was at Vissel Kobe but I believe we create more chances here at Celtic, even at the end of the game.

“During our attacking phase or at throw-ins, we don’t want to get into a resting mode — we stay in active mode and if we keep our intensity high, it will be difficult for our opponent to stay focused for 90 minutes.

“Maybe this is why we’ve scored goals at the beginning of the game but also at the end of the game.”

In addition to his goals, Celtic fans have also been enamoured by Kyogo’s pressing. He’s relentless, enacting Postecoglou’s game plan from the front of the team.

The Athletic asked him if the Celtic manager’s instructions changed depending on the opponent or if the approach was open to Kyogo’s own interpretation.

“In principle, our approach remains the same,” he explains.

“I play as centre-forward and the tasks that we all get from our manager are clear. Regardless of what formation our opponent is playing in, we, as a team, want to actively dominate the game and work with high intensity with our pressing. Our attitude doesn’t change.”

The basis of Kyogo’s goalscoring prowess is his off-the-ball movement. That late goal against Dundee United in early November resulted from Kyogo drifting in — unnoticed — from the edge of the box as Celtic took a corner.

That skill was on show as Kyogo slipped between Dundee United’s markers and nimbly side-stepped team-mate Moritz Jenz while running at speed.

Finally, with the opposition defence caught ball-watching, Kyogo headed home to lead Celtic to a dramatic 4-2 victory.

Coach Uchino Tomoaki of Kokoku High School has said that Kyogo’s impressive off-the-ball actions were already evident in a childhood trial match at school. His ability to move quickly and smartly — so important to his prowess in front of the goal — were clear from a young age.

“Back when I was a high-school player, I tried to find space on the pitch and made runs again and again in the space, but this was done more on instinct — or rather, I relied on my intuition,” says the Japan forward. “And for me, it was always important to believe in my team-mates, to trust them.”

Tomoaki is just one of the influential figures that has helped shape Kyogo’s career, with iconic former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta, his former team-mate at Vissel Kobe, one he cherishes in particular.

“It meant a lot to me that he (Iniesta) told me that it’s okay if I just believe in myself — if I just play like I am and what I can,” says Kyogo.

“Iniesta played the balls where I anticipated. If I believed that the ball might come here, then I sprinted down and the ball really did come there. He understood how I play and made sure that my qualities were even more evident on the pitch.

“Working with manager Takeshi Oki during my first year as a professional, back then at FC Gifu, was formative for me. He kept telling me to acquire knowledge, train consciously, and implement it unconsciously in the game.

“It was important for me to pay attention to have good positioning on the pitch. Where should I stand so that my opponent has a hard time to play against me? To work on scanning the situation at all times. Or having a clean first touch to get an optimal finish.”

Kyogo played in each of Celtic’s Champions League group-stage matches this season but didn’t manage to score. This was despite registering an expected goals (xG) total of 1.7.

So has he been unfortunate?

“Luck plays a role in scoring but it’s also about a little more accuracy and precision,” says Celtic’s No 8. “On the one hand, it is important that we have had these opportunities to score. On the other hand, I have to continue working on scoring to reach the next level in my development.”

When asked about his knowledge of the expected goals (xG) statistic, Kyogo again leads the conversation towards working on his own efficiency.

“At Vissel Kobe, we also had our data with xG but this was more team-wide and less individual,” he explains.

“I’ve only been dealing with this individual xG since I’ve been here. xG is a good number to see if we could create goal chances or not. At the same time, it will also be important for me to be more likely to score goals from little chances.”

Kyogo’s average xG per shot is 0.15 in Europe, whereas it is 0.27 in the Scottish Premiership.

The difference in the quality of chances he is getting is even evident simply in the average distance from goal of his shots — 11.1 yards domestically and 14.3 yards in the Champions League.

The six-yard box is an obvious danger zone for him domestically, but he didn’t manage one shot from there in the Champions League this season.

The hope is that next season, with the experience gained from playing at the elite level under Postecoglou, Celtic will be able to create better opportunities against top European teams. However, Kyogo may have to deliver from lesser chances than he is used to. He’s certainly working on it.

“For me, it is important to use every situation in the game from which to work on my finishing,” he says.

“I’m trying to read and understand the situation accurately, and am working on my technique in a training moment which is similar to the game. How should I move to finish even faster, for example. I keep working on such points.

“I watch videos on YouTube of how other players scored their goals, how they took the ball and solved the situation and so on. I also watch videos of my finishing to think about how I can play better.”

It’s not uncommon for Japanese footballers, such as former Celtic man Shunsuke Nakamura, for example, to have lengthy careers.

Kyogo, who typically came into the professional game later than counterparts from other countries due to Japan’s university football system, intends to take in a further two World Cup cycles.

The Japan squad is one of the oldest on average at Qatar 2022 and includes eight players in their 30s. If that trend continues, it is possible that a veteran Kyogo, then in his early 30s himself, could be at the 2026 World Cup in North America alongside Hatate and Maeda.

“First of all, I want to play until I’m 35 years old. After that, it will probably depend on how I feel,” he says.

“I have not thought much about what I’m going to do after the end of my playing career but what I can say is that I want to contribute to society through my activities.”

For now, Kyogo is showing his unchanged ambition by contributing so significantly for Celtic.

(Top photo: Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images)