Daizen Maeda believes the experience he has accumulated with Celtic playing in the Champions League against some of Europe’s finest will put him in good stead for the World Cup this month.
Surprisingly, Maeda was the only Japanese player in the Celtic squad to be selected for the Japanese team heading to Qatar, leaving Kyogo, Yosuke Ideguchi and the arguably more in-form Reo Hatate out. In any case, the Celtic winger is under the impression that the time he spent playing in the Champions League will be of huge benefit to him when he enters the World Cup Arena with his Japanese teammates.
Maeda also identifies that the lack of ruthlessness from a Celtic point of view cost the Bhoys dearly, so he intends to learn from this lesson and hope that the Japanese squad can make their chances count. Playing at the highest level in Europe has made Maeda painfully aware of the high standard of football that is required to compete, but he believes the way Celtic handled the situation, with the mention of Ange’s high press, was the way to go about it.
As reported by Scottish Football, Maeda said: “I was able to learn about the world level in the Champions League before the World Cup, so even though we didn’t win, I think I got a lot out of it. I want to use the experience I gained in the Champions League to help me in this World Cup.”
“Celtic didn’t take our chances and the other team did. I don’t think we will have many chances at the World Cup, but we can’t win unless we take that one shot, and I think we can ride the wave if we do, so I want to make every one of them count.”
“I had the impression that the opponents didn’t like our pressing in the Champions League, and we created some chances with it, so I want to continue it at the World Cup. If we work hard and score goals, it will help the team a lot, so I want to prepare well. The Canada game is a friendly, but we want to play with the World Cup in mind.”
