Ao Tanaka starred in Japan’s momentous 4-0 win over Tunisia on Monday morning, which almost guaranteed them a place in the last 32 of the World Cup.
The Leeds midfielder was an unused substitute in the 2-2 draw against the Netherlands, which came as a surprise, especially after Wataru Endo was ruled out of the tournament.
However, Tanaka started and showed why exactly he should not be out of the starting eleven with a tenacious performance for Japan, as they scored four goals in a World Cup match for the first time.
The midfielder’s performance is not a surprise for Leeds fans, who know how good he can be, and the Japanese media has reacted to the showing in North America.
Japanese media hail Ao Tanaka
Tanaka was tenacious with his tackles, pressed hard in midfield and provided some incisive passes that made the Japanese attackers more potent.
He played a big role in the opening goal of the game, when his forward pass found Ayase Ueda, who provided the assist for Ito’s goal early in the game.
The Leeds midfielder also earned praise for his performance both in attack and defence and his intelligent movement in the middle of the park was lauded.
The midfielder earned a 7/10 rating from Hochi.News, with praise directed at his role in the opening goal and the incisive through ball he played to Feyenoord forward Ueda, who subsequently teed up Ito.
The Elland Road midfielder received an even higher rating of 7.5/10 from Footballchannel.jp, which praised his all-round display.
The publication wrote: “He made his presence felt at both ends of the pitch.
“His intelligent movement off the ball was of a high standard and played an important role in the team’s performance.”
Can he convince one of his teammates to join Leeds?
