Daizen Maeda’s Asia Cup journey is over, with Japan being knocked out by Iran 2-1 in the quarter-finals, courtesy of a 96th minute penalty from Feyenoord winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh.
The Samurai Blue did take the lead in the first half in the 28th minute through Hidemasa Morita, but Iran hit back in the second half with Mohammed Mohebi equalising.
Maeda played 67 minutes in the game, before being substituted in the second half for former Liverpool winger Takumi Minamino.
Reo Hatate played no part in the game, having suffered a calf injury against Bahrain on Wednesday in a 3-1 loss, with the Celtic playmaker likely to be out for a month.
Maeda’s return from international duty will come as a positive for Brendan Rodgers. The Japanese international was missed by Celtic for significant periods during the first half of the season, with Yang Hyun-Jun failing to adequately deputise in his absence.
With Mikey Johnston and Marco Tilio departing on loan, Celtic were already two wingers down from the beginning of the January transfer window. So, having a first-team regular like Maeda back will be a relief for Brendan Rodgers.
Yang Hyun-Jun and Oh Hyeon-gyu are still in the competition with South Korea, who will face Jordan in the semi-final on Tuesday. Yang was hailed in his homeland for his impact off the bench against Australia in yesterday’s 2-1 win.
