What other alternatives are there then? Ideguchi and Yamaguchi, etc are B2B due to their style and size. Japan greatly lacks a holding midfielder that can play Hasebe's role. Misao is one of the few alternatives other than Kobayashi, etc. Hasebe with his recent injuries and age might not be able to play 90 mins every match.
Misao, etc. are what the JNT has as well. If they can prove that they have it in them, then they can be used as well. Of course, if they aren't any good or there is really no use for them, then they shouldn't be used. If Hasebe gets injured, Ideguchi or Yamaguchi cannot replace him as they are of a different kind of MF. Unless of course, Halil can change the tactics to accomodate Hasebe's absence if he is injured or can't play the entire match, which can be likely given Hasebe's age, recent injuries and Russia's climate.
I still hope that Shibasaki replaces Yamaguchi. The defensive contributions of Yamaguchi are decent but he tends to make silly mistakes when he is under pressure and most of the WC opponents will put the Japanese midfield under a huge amount of pressure. Yamaguchi is not really good enough for the World Cup as a starting member. And even Ideguchi has still a long way to go but he is still young. I am not really sure whether Shibasaki will do a great job defensively but at least Japan will have a better ball possession with Shibasaki
Some of you guys might know Yojiro Takahagi who played for FC Seoul a year ago. He was called up to represent Japan at the 2017 EAFF. His old coach, Cha Du Ri ran into him before the match against South Korea. Takahagi seems to have a decent grasp of Korean. Not too shabby for someone who was only here for two years. CDR - 야! (Hey!) Takahagi - 네? (Yes?) CDR - 대표선수야? (You're a player on the national squad?) Takahagi - 예 ㅎㅎㅎ (Yes, haha). --- CDR - 축하해! (Congrats!) CDR - 한국올꺼야? (Are you coming to Korea?) Takahagi - 시간이없어. (I don't have the time) CDR - 왜?! - (Why?!) --- Takahagi - 안녕하세요! 파이팅! (Hello! Fighting!)
Same here! Well, there was a significant positivity of this EAFF: We will never see Takahagi called-up to the NT again.