Japan boss Hajime Moriyasu has offered some reasoning for leaving Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate out of his squad.

Both Celtic players have been snubbed for a friendly double-header against Uruguay and Colombia.

Kyogo and Hatate were also left out of the national team set up for the Word Cup in Qatar at the end of the last year.

Celtic winger Daizen Maeda was involved then and he has retained his place in the squad this time around.

Moriyasu explained: "I've watched all of Celtic's games and seen what they've accomplished and their presence in the team. But there's no bar to clear to be called up; it's a comprehensive decision.

"We think about the level of the league and various other factors when making the decision. For this squad we focused on the squad from Qatar as well as some new players. There will be other call-ups. As I said, we're trying to build strongest team possible ahead of 2026.

"In order to do that we're taking a wide view of how to build the team... as I think we all agree, (Reo & Kyogo) would absolutely be able to contribute to the team, but this time I wanted to try out some different players and that's why they weren't selected."

Meanwhile, Scott Brown believes caretaker boss Barry Robson has earned a crack at managing Aberdeen on a permanent basis.

The 44-year-old youth coach took interim charge of the Dons after Stephen Glass was sacked 13 months ago and has been thrust into the role once more following the dismissal of Jim Goodwin at the end of January.

Robson has overseen three victories in his five matches since then and Fleetwood boss Brown – who had a spell as player/assistant manager at the Dons under Glass last term – believes his former Celtic and Scotland midfield colleague deserves to be given the reins on a longer-term basis.

“Robbo’s done a fantastic job,” said Brown. “It was always going to be hard because he went in just after Glassy left and now he’s gone in just after Jim left.

“It’s maybe his opportunity this time. He’s a young manager, he’s keen and he’s definitely earned his badges after being at Aberdeen that long, learning under Derek McInnes and all the way through (to now).

“For me, there’s probably no better man at this moment. He loves the club, he understands the club and he’s got that drive to make the club better.”