Kyogo Furuhashi was a doubt for Japan’s match against Vietnam in Hanoi, after a bizarre incident saw him and his European contingent of teammates stranded in Russia for ten hours yesterday. Kyogo travelled enroute to Vietnam – immediately after the Hoops emphatic 4-2 victory over Dundee at Dens Park on Sunday – with the other Japanese players who play in European football.
The Japanese FA had organised a plane that went from Amsterdam to Vietnam via Russia for a refuelling along the way. However, due to an issue with the refuelling of the carrier, Kyogo and eleven teammates had to stay overnight on a Russian airfield, leaving his and the ten others availability in doubt for their crucial qualification match in South East Asia.
A Celtic flag in support of Kyogo Furuhashi. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Unfortunately for Kyogo and his countrymen, they could not leave the aircraft due to issues regarding visas, meaning they had to spend all night on the aircraft itself. Having missed a day of training and endured an horrific period of travelling, it was highly doubtful if Kyogo and his comrades would play a part in the game against Vietnam, which finished 1-0 to Japan.
However, Kyogo did make an appearance from the bench which is good news for Celtic fans. The diminutive buzzbomb came on for the last fifteen minutes as Japan held on to their lead over Vietnam in Hanoi. Japan manager, Hajime Moriyasu, and captain Maya Yoshida had noted that the preparations were far from ideal. Moriyasu had said: “I have to decide to see if these players are physically able to play in the match after such a journey, as reported by Scottish Sun. They arrived half a day later than expected. It’s an unexpected situation. It can’t be helped now. I have been told the players were able to get a good rest on the journey, but they’ve missed a training session so it’s not the best preparation.”
Kyogo Furuhashi JPN, SEPTEMBER 2, 2021 – Football / Soccer : FIFA World Cup,
Yoshida commented: “We had to sit on the plane in Russia for ten hours. They wouldn’t let us out of the plane because of visa issues so we had to sit on the aircraft. We spent our time on the plane moving, stretching and playing card games. Maybe if we win, it will be one of those incidents we will talk and laugh about in years to come. But not now.”
Celtic and Ange will be hoping no other detours occur which would encourage fatigue to our new superstar, with his displays of late nothing short of phenomenal in a Celtic jersey.
Fingers crossed for a safe journey back to Paradise…
Paul Gillespie
