After a long stretch absent from the Japan squad, Kyogo Furuhashi was called up for this latest stretch of international fixtures.
Last week, the 29-year-old forward was ultimately an unused substitute in his country's 4-0 World Cup qualifier win over Indonesia.
In that match, Celtic teammate Daizen Maeda played the entirety of the second half, while Reo Hatate came off the bench in the closing stages.
Against China today, however, Kyogo was brought on in the 77th minute for Koki Ogawa with Japan leading 3-1 – the latter striker having scored twice, in the 39th and 54th minute.
Kyogo wasn't able to extend Japan's lead in the process, but did eventually share the pitch with Maeda, who came on Takefusa Kubo with six minutes of normal time remaining.
Hatate was an unused substitute on the day.
Read more:
- Kyogo promises best yet to come as striker tipped to start for Japan
- Two out of three Celtic stars turned out for Japan in 4-0 rout
Ogawa, who has been given the nod over Kyogo more recently, plays for Eredivisie outfit NEC Nijmegen at club level.
In Holland's top flight this season, the forward has scored seven goals in all competitions, assisting for his teammates once in that time.
Kyogo, on the other hand, has netted six times in 16 appearances, with three assists along the way so far.
Japan's 3-1 win over China sees them climb to 16 points in their World Cup qualifying group, currently 10 points ahead of second-place Australia.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here