Daizen Maeda was the odd man out of Celtic’s Japanese contingent.
Ahead of the trip to Madrid to take on Real in the Bernabeu he got an early morning alert that he’d be travelling to Qatar later this month but that was quickly followed by sadness.
Kyogo Furuhashi, who was involved in the qualifying campaign had missed the cut and there would also be no place for Reo Hatate despite some outstanding Champions League performances.
Being selected to play in the World Cup Finals is naturally a career high but speaking to Japan Times, Maeda admitted that it was tinged with some disappointment for two team-mates:
I feel it especially with Kyogo and Reo because they are my teammates. There are other people as well, but I feel like I have to represent them when I play, and I want to give my all.
Japan have been drawn in the same group as Spain, Germany and Costa Rica with their opening match on November 23 against the Germans.
Maeda has nine full international caps but only played for 54 minutes during the World Cup qualifying campaign.