Celtic hitman makes history at World Cup but Parkhead teammate 'in my head' after injury spoils glory moment
Celtic trio confirm their spot in the last 32 of the World Cup with overnight results.
Daizen Maeda became the first player in Celtic history to score at two consecutive World Cups after bagging the opening goal for Japan in the 1-1 draw with Sweden, which secured their place in the last 32 of the tournament.
The first Celtic player to find the net at the tournament in North America, he opened the scoring by finishing off a stunning team move, latching onto Ritsu Doan’s exquisite through ball to fire beyond Jacob Widell Zetterstrom in the 56th minute to give the Blue Samurai the lead in Arlington, Dallas.
While Newcastle United winger Anthony Elena levelled the scores for Sweden shortly afterwards, the result meant Japan sailed through to the last 32 of the competition, picking up five points from their three Group F fixtures to seal second place and set up a last 32 clash with five-time champions Brazil in Houston on Monday, June 29.
The draw also sees teammate Benjamin Nygren, who came off the bench in the 87th minute for Sweden, qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament despite Sweden finishing third behind Japan and the Netherlands. Graham Potter’s side end the group stage on four points, sealing their spot as one of the eight best third-placed teams.
However, the night belonged to Maeda, whose opening goal at the AT&T Stadium meant he’s now the first, and only, player to find the net in consecutive World Cups whilst playing for Celtic. The energetic forward first netted for Japan against Croatia in the last 16 of the Qatar World Cup four years ago. Despite that record, he remains one goal behind Parkhead legend Henrik Larsson in terms of goals scored at the tournament, with the Swedish hitman scoring three goals whilst registered as a Celtic player during the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.
Elsewhere, Celtic defender Auston Trusty was left “in his own head” after a night of mixed emotions saw him suffer an ankle injury in the United States’ 3-2 loss to Turkiye. The 27-year-old centre-back got his team off to a flying start when he fired home his first-ever international goal just two minutes into the game in Inglewood, Los Angeles, only for Arda Guler and Baris Alper Yilmaz to hit back before the half-time break to give the opposition a surprise half-time lead.
Sebastian Berhalter restored parity just four minutes after the restart, however, tournament co-hosts United States were handed their first defeat of the World Cup when Khan Ayhan scored a dramatic winner in the eighth minute of stoppage team to seal a late victory for Turkiye.
Following the game, Trusty revealed he had suffered an ankle knock during the defeat, telling FOX Sports: “I can’t really react to it. Honestly, I am in my head right now. I rolled my ankle pretty bad. How am I feeling? I’ll be alright. Honestly, I don’t know. I heard a little something, but I’ll be fine. No worries. Obviously, we won the group. That’s a positive. I think this is just one of those losses that we put behind, learn from it.”
The United States will now face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 at the World Cup, with the game scheduled to take place on Thursday, July 2 in Santa Clara.
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