NEWS

The Japan women's Olympic squad was announced Tuesday at JFA headquarters in Tokyo.

The 18-member squad features midfielders Homare Sawa and Aya Miyama, forward Eriko Arakawa and defender Hiromi Ikeda.

"I've made the selection based on those players who are capable of taking on the world's top players and teams in the Olympics, and taking into account the special attributes of each player," Nadeshiko Japan coach Norio Sasaki said.

Japan were placed in Group G and will play New Zealand on August 6 in Qinhuangdao and defending Olympic champions the United States on August 9 at the same venue. They will then move to Shanghai to face the 2000 gold-medal winners Norway on August 12.

In the women's tournament, 12 teams will compete in three groups of four and the top two finishers from each group plus the two best third-placed finishers will advance to the quarterfinals on August 15. The semifinals will be held on August 18, and the final and third-place playoff will take place on August 21 in Beijing.

Group E consists of hosts China, Sweden, Argentina and Canada, while Group F features DPR Korea, Nigeria, Germany and Brazil.

Sawa, who will be making her third straight appearance in the Olympics, commented: "I'd like to work hard to help our team finish higher than in the previous Olympics and get as close as possible to a medal."

Japan made it through the group stage last time around but bowed to the United States 2-1 in the quarterfinals.

Sasaki, who served as assistant to Hiroshi Ohashi in the 2004 contest, said: "No matter who we play, I'm convinced that this is the squad that can make it to the quarterfinals. To make it happen, the conditioning of our players will be important."

The 50-year-old coach noted, "I can tell that our players have a strong determination to win a medal; it's even stronger than mine. I want to make them play in a manner that fully shows what they are capable of."

The Nadeshiko squad will play two warm-up games – against Australia on July 24 at Homes Stadium in Kobe, and against Argentina on July 29 at the National Stadium in Tokyo.

Squad:
Goalkeepers — Miho Fukumoto (Okayama Yunogo Belle), Ayumi Kaihori (INAC Leonessa)

Defenders — Hiromi Ikeda (TASAKI Perule), Miyuki Yanagita (Urawa Reds Ladies),
Kozue Ando (Urawa Reds Ladies), Yukari Kinga (Nippon TV Beleza),
Kyoko Yano (Urawa Reds Ladies), Azusa Iwashimizu (Nippon TV Beleza)

Midfielders — Tomoe Kato (Nippon TV Beleza), Homare Sawa (Nippon TV Beleza),
Ayumi Hara (INAC Leonessa), Aya Miyama (Okayama Yunogo Belle),
Mizuho Sakaguchi (TASAKI Perule), Rumi Utsugi (Nippon TV Beleza)

Forwards — Eriko Arakawa (Nippon TV Beleza), Karina Maruyama (TEPCO Mareeze),
Shinobu Ohno (Nippon TV Beleza), Yuki Nagasato (Nippon TV Beleza)

Back-up squad:
Goalkeeper — Nozomi Yamago (Urawa Reds Ladies)

Defender — Saki Kumagai (Tokiwagi Gakuen High School)

Midfielder — Aya Sameshima (TEPCO Mareeze)

Forward — Michi Goto (Tokowagi Gakuen High School)

Coach — Norio Sasaki