Takefusa Kubo was ineffective.

Japan lost 1-2 to Iraq in their Qatar 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup Group D second leg match at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, at 8:30 p.m. ET on June 19.

Kubo currently plays for Real Sociedad in La Liga. He is a force to be reckoned with in both La Liga and the 텍사스홀덤 UEFA Champions League. He’s a force to be reckoned with in Europe.

However, his presence in the Japanese national team is diminishing. Coach Hajime Moriyasu doesn”t use Kubo as a starter, but rather as a rotation player. In fact, he doesn’t have the same presence in the national team as he does in the club.

Today was no different. After starting the first leg as a substitute, he started the second. But for 61 minutes, he was a non-factor. Despite starting at right wing-forward, he didn’t take a single shot, and his dribbling success rate was just 38% (3/8).

With Kubo‘s silence, Japan was unable to make up for the two first-half goals and eventually lost. Without the player who was supposed to make a difference, the team fell apart.