Keisuke Honda has announced that Japan’s 3-2 defeat against Belgium in their thrilling round-of-16 clash at the 2018 World Cup will be the last he plays for his country. Keisuke Honda is a Japanese professional footballer who plays for Liga MX club C.F. Pachuca.
The 32-year-old attacking midfielder, who did not start a game in Russia, came on as a second half substitute in Rostov as Japan let a 2-0 lead slip and conceded a third in the final seconds of stoppage time. Honda, playing in his third World Cup, was unable to help the Samurai Blue reach the quarterfinals for the first time in their history, and is stepping down just two games short of a century of international appearances.
“I am concluding my career in the national team,” the former AC Milan man said. “I am happy, because we have a lot of good young players, and now it is their turn to write the history of Japanese football.”