Japanese legend Marcus Tanaka has demanded his country build their next World Cup campaign around in-form Celtic star Kyogo Furuhashi.

The Hoops ace is in stunning form this season after scoring his 22nd goal of the season for Ange Postecoglou's side in their 4-1 romp at St Johnstone.

It was his 11th goal in his last 11 games. But he was stunned by a shock World Cup snub in November when Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu omitted him from his squad for the tournament.
The Far East nation managed to defeat both Germany and Spain in Qatar before losing out to Croatia on penalties in the Round of 16 clash after extra time.

Japan have appointed two new first-team coaches to add to their staff for their next challenge - former players Hiroshi Nanami and Ryoichi Maeda.

Japan have two Kirin Cup games against Uruguay and Colombia and March before their next 2026 World Cup qualifiers start in November this year.

READ MORE: Ange Postecoglou hails Callum McGregor's Celtic transfer stance

And Brazilian-born former defender Tanaka - who played in the 2010 World Cup and won almost 50 caps - insists Furuhashi should be a key player for them.

He said: "Kyogo Furuhashi is a player I want to see playing for Japan moving forward.

"He is an explosive striker and a very good player. I want him to play.

"We know he wasn't taken to Qatar, but he is doing extremely well in Scotland, I can't remember any Japanese player in Europe scoring as many goals as he has by this stage of a season ever.

"For me, the team should be built around Furuhashi, with Brighton's Kaoru Mitoma and Takefusa Kubo of Real Sociedad heavily involved too."

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