NEWS

Japan's 14-member squad for the AFC Futsal Championship was announced on Sunday, following a 2-1 win over Ukraine in a send-off match in Tokyo.

The Japanese squad, guided by Brazilian boss Sergio Sapo, will leave for Bangkok on Tuesday for their final tune-up sessions for the Asian tournament in the Thai capital.

In the 16-team AFC Futsal Championship, Japan will play Chinese Taipei on May 11, Turkmenistan on May 12 and Australia on May 13 in Group B. The quarterfinals will be held on May 15 and the semifinals on May 16. The final and third-place playoff will take place on May 18.

The four semifinalists in the tournament will earn a place in the FIFA Futsal World Cup slated for later this year.

Japan won the AFC tournament in 2006.

Squad:

Goalkeepers—Ryota Ishiwatari (Pescadola Machida), Hisao Sadanaga (Nagoya Oceans)

Field players—Ricardo Higa (Deucao Kobe), Kenta Fujii (Bardral Urayasu), Yusuke Inada (Bardral Urayasu), Yuki Kanayama (Pescadola Machida), Takeshi Kishimoto (Shriker Osaka), Takuya Suzumura (Bargas/I. Siglo XXI), Akira Toyoshima (Shonan Bellmare), Kenichiro Kogure (M.M. Perez Bujalance), Yusuke Komiyama (Bardral Urayasu), Daisuke Ono (Bargas/I. Siglo XXI), Kotaro Inaba (Bardral Urayasu), Kohei Harada (Deucao Kobe)

Coach—Sergio Sapo (Brazil)