Football: Scottish Cup Celtic s Daizen Maeda L scores in the first half of a Scottish Cup semifinal football match against St. Johnstone in Glasgow, Scotland, on April 20, 2025. Imago Images
Ange Postecoglou used his appearance on ITV’s World Cup coverage to deliver a glowing assessment of Celtic’s Daizen Maeda ahead of Japan’s clash with the Netherlands.
The former Celtic boss joined Roy Keane and Gary Neville on the panel for the Group Stage fixture, bringing first-hand knowledge of Japanese football to the broadcast.
Postecoglou wasted no time singing the praises of Maeda, a player he signed for Celtic back in 2022.
Host Laura Woods noted that Japan would be without key man Kaoru Mitoma, who withdrew from the squad due to injury ahead of the tournament.
Postecoglou was quick to stress that Maeda’s presence alone gives Japan every reason to be taken seriously against the Dutch.
He said: “Daizen Maeda is just a pressing machine. In terms of physical characteristics, he is absolutely elite. If the Dutch are sleeping on the ball, he’ll close them down.”
Postecoglou went even further, describing the forward in terms that left little doubt about his admiration for the player’s physical qualities and relentless work rate.
He added: “He’s an absolute freak of a physical specimen. He’s got a real appetite for closing down, he’s exceptional.”
Woods highlighted that Maeda had endured a difficult first half of the domestic season before dramatically turning his form around to help Celtic win a Double.
Postecoglou was quick to credit current Celtic manager Martin O’Neill for playing a central role in Maeda’s remarkable resurgence over the second half of the campaign.
He said: “Maeda’s goalscoring towards the end was brilliant. Martin put his arm around him I think and got the best out of him, because he was going through a tough time and at the end of it, he was unbelievable.”
Postecoglou pointed to one moment in particular that he felt captured everything special about the Japanese forward’s physical gifts and instinctive ability in front of goal.
He said: “He scored an unbelievable overhead kick against Rangers, that’s the freakish ability he has, from a physical perspective, to score goals like that.”
The Australian coach signed off his assessment with a confident prediction that the World Cup stage would hold no fear whatsoever for the Celtic striker.
He said: “I’m really looking forward to seeing him play tonight. He will not be daunted at all. He’s got that sort of nature about him, he doesn’t care who he’s playing against. He knows the physical capacity he has, he’ll match himself against anybody.”
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