Kyogo and Maeda's key Celtic trait sees Japan boss ready to build World Cup team around pair

Japan boss Hajime Moriyasu insists he wants to build his team on speed with Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda at the heart of it ahead of a glamour friendly against Brazil.

The Hoops duo, along with midfielder Reo Hatate, are set to face a busy summer schedule after Japan confirmed they would play four home games in 12 days as preparations for the World Cup later this year.

They face Brazil in Tokyo on June 6, along with Paraguay four days earlier in Sapporo. They also play Kirin Cup games against Ghana and either Chile or Tunisia later in the month.

And Moriyasu wants the pace of the Japanese team to be their main weapon.

He said: "We are building towards our final squad for the World Cup and to play a team like Brazil with so many wonderful players will be a great test for us.

"They have global superstars like Neymar and Vinicius Junior who we are told will be coming to Japan.

"Brazil have many wonderful players, but so do we. We have players in great shape like Furuhashi who has now scored 20 goals for the season with Celtic and Maeda too.

"They are two very quick players and we know that opponents dislike that. I want to make use of their speed as a Japanese weapon."