JAKARTA (Kyodo) -- After receiving his first call-up in roughly a year, Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi said Wednesday he needs to seize the opportunity and make an impact for the Japanese national football team in their World Cup qualifying campaign.

Despite strong performances for his Scottish Premiership side, Furuhashi was repeatedly overlooked by Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu before being named to the squad for the upcoming Asian final-stage qualifiers against Indonesia on Friday and China on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old, perhaps the most notable omission from Japan's 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup squads, said he had held out hope of returning for the Samurai Blue.

"I'd been keeping my eye on the national team the whole time," Furuhashi said. "I was waiting for this day."

Furuhashi's recall comes in the absence of injured Feyenoord forward Ayase Ueda, who has become Japan's first choice up front. The Celtic man says his strong club form will count for little if he does not deliver for his country.

"The national team as a whole has been playing well, so I have to be the type of player who can make a difference," Furuhashi said.

The Japanese players have attracted intense interest from local media and fans in Indonesia ahead of Friday's match, which is expected to be played in front of a sell-out crowd at the 78,000-seat Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta. Moriyasu's men will then travel to face China in Xiamen.

The unbeaten Samurai Blue currently lead Group C on 10 points from four matches. The top two finishers in the six-team group qualify automatically for the 2026 World Cup finals to be co-hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico.