Daizen Maeda scored the first goal for Japan in the game against Croatia at the FIFA World Cup 2022. The 25-year-old gave Japan the lead in the match just before half-time, in the 45th minute.
Although Japan are not the favourite to win the match against the 2018 finalists Croatia, their performance exceeded the expectation of the fans. Many on Twitter were full of praise for the Japansese team that have managed to defeat Germany and Spain the group-stage games.
Who is Daizen Maeda?
Daizen Maeda was born on October 20, 1997, in Osaka Japan. He currently plays for the Scottish Premiership club Celtic FC. He joined Celtic in 2022 after a stint with the Portuguese club C.S. Marítimo.
Maeda joined J-League club Matsumoto Yamaga FC in 2016. He made his debut for Matsumoto Yamaga FC in 2016. He scored his first goal as a professional on August 28, 2016, against Tokuyama University in an Emperor’s Cup match.
He first joined C.S. Maritimo on loan from the J League club in 2019. He made his debut for them on August 11, 2019, against Sporting CP. He scored his debut goal in the next match against CD Tondela, but Maritimo lost the match 3-2. After a brief stint with Yokohama F. Marinos, another J-League club, he was made permanent there.
He was a prolific career for the Marinos and scored 23 goals for them in the 2021-22 season. He was signed by Celtic on loan by the end of the 2021-22 season and played rest of the season there. In January 2022, he was made permanent at Celtic and was awarded a four-year contract with them.
