Ao Tanaka had a difficult afternoon away from Leeds United on Friday as Japan faced Ghana in a friendly.
The Leeds No.22 was involved in a gruesome moment as Francis Abu suffered a broken leg – having stuck his foot in just as the Japan international was about to unleash a shot at goal.
That was the headline moment – one the Leeds midfielder has already said he is “sorry about” when speaking after the game.
Besides that unfortunate incident, Ao Tanaka delivered an impressive performance overall, with Japanese media outlet Football Channel now analysing his display.
Ao Tanaka told he was not a “prominent presence” for Japan but helped others to “flourish”
Football Channel gave the 27-year-old a B for his performance against Ghana, specifically praising him for his selfless work in midfield which allowed others to prosper.
They wrote: “Although he wasn’t a prominent presence throughout the game, it was Tanaka who allowed Kaishu Sano to flourish. Since his partner is a player who likes to move around a lot, he focused on maintaining a balance in midfield without moving too much.
“He carefully passed the ball to the players around him, and even in negative transition situations, he was able to accurately nip the opponent’s counter attacks in the bud.”
Ao Tanaka in action for Japan.
Photo by Masashi Hara/Getty Images
Daniel Farke will surely be pleased to hear this assessment of Tanaka – who wants more points at Leeds – as he admirably showed a lot of tactical maturity and sense in the middle of the park.
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Farke dropped the man born in Kawasaki last time out for the 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest, throwing Anton Stach back into the starting XI after the German recovered from a broken rib.
It was harsh on Tanaka, who had done little wrong in his four Premier League starts so far this season, nor in his 37 Championship starts last term.
However, his promising performance against Ghana might give Farke some food for thought, and potentially lead the German to reintroduce the Japanese maestro for the clash against Aston Villa after the international break.
Japan still have one more game before Tanaka can return to Yorkshire – however – so he must maintain his impressive standards next time out against Bolivia on Tuesday.