Reo Hatate plays as LWG in the friendly match v Tunisia that is now underway…
Japan national team are currently playing Tunisia at the home stadium of Vissel Kobe located in Kobe. This time, Kaoru Mitoma and Daizen Maeda, and Keito Nakamura, who injured his ankle in the match v Canada held in Niigata on 14th, can’t play in today’s match, so Moriyasu manager made it clear at the press conference that Reo Hatate will play as LWG from the start.
Moriyasu outlined his expectations for Celtic’s Reo Hatate….
Moriyasu: “Even when accidents such as injury or bad condition occurs to our team, it’s important for us to respond calmly. We informed our players in advance that they may play in multiple positions, including positions that each player is best at.
“Based on that, realistically, our team is in a situation that there is lack of winger, so I hope that our players who can play in multiple positions can play as LWG and lead to the growth of players. We’re going to start with 4-2-3-1 system, but I’m sure that Reo, who played as LWG in 2nd half of the match against Canada, can also play as LWG in today’s match.
Kyogo and Reo side by side before kick off in the match against Tunisia today pic.twitter.com/7LGnyhQDgS
— Highland__Paddy (@Highland__paddy) October 17, 2023
“Reo Hatate is utility player, so I understand other players are ready to play as LWG, but I think of him as the first choice of LWG. Hatate can take wide position on left side to create space that makes it easy for teammates to move, can play in narrow areas, and be able to be aggressively involved not only in attack but also in defence.
“I understand that he usually plays as left IH in 4-1-4-1 system at Celtic, and I expect him to do his strengths that he has been performing for Celtic in today’s match.”
Reo Hatate also looked back on his own performance in the match against Canada and expressed his enthusiasm for the match against Tunisia as follows.
Reo Hatate: “I played from 2nd half in the match against Canada. It is usually difficult for players who play from the middle of the game to grasp the flow of the game soon, but I think I was able to do it smoothly in that match.
“If I can play my own way in the game against Tunisia, my motivation will be even higher, so I hope I can perform my strengths as soon as possible. Result is important to me, but it is important not to stick to only result, but to think about what I can do for our team.
“I am confident in the breadth of the field of view that I can watch to the opposite side of the pitch and my kicking skills. I’ve been trying to understand characteristics of various players while always playing various things during training, so I think I can do good linking up with my teammates in various positions,” Reo said.
Tunisia use either a 3-4-3 system or the 3-4-2-1. Also, they use three backline system flexibly, so for Japan, changing flexible position dependingon the situation will be the key to win. Not only Moriyasu manager, but also many Japanese media and Japanese football fans are beginning to recognise Hatate as a key player in Japan national team that flexibly changes its formation.
I’m looking forward to seeing how ideas of Hatate, which can play in all positions except center back and goalkeeper, will develop in the national team. Let’s enjoy watching the match against Tunisia and I will report back on how it went later today (Celtic Park Time).
Yatao
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