NEWS

Japan coach Takeshi Okada on Wednesday named a 25-member squad to play against Venezuela in a Kirin Challenge Cup friendly match on February 2 at Kyushu Oil Dome in Oita.

The match will be Japan’s first home game this year.
The squad is based around Japan-based players and includes Kashima Antlers midfielder Mitsuo Ogasawara, his first call-up since the 2006 World Cup.
Midfielder Shinji Kagawa of Cerezo Osaka also returned for the first time since the Kirin Cup last May.
FC Tokyo forward Sota Hirayama, who scored a hat trick against Yemen in an Asian Cup qualifier on January 6, was also included, along with Mu Kanazaki, who recently left Oita Trinita to join Nagoya Grampus.
Shonan Bellmare defender Taisuke Muramatsu, who was forced to return from Yemen because of flu, kept his place in the squad.
The Japanese squad will start their preparations with a training camp in Kagoshima Prefecture from January 25.
“In the Venezuela game, I would like to double-check what we are capable of, as some of our players haven’t had a game for a while,” Okada noted.
“Then, we would like to move on to the East Asian Championship and improve our standard by another notch.”
Okada added: “Since this is our first home game of the year, we should go all out to win.”
Asked about Ogasawara, the Japan coach said: “We are very much aware of his ability and it was a matter of timing when to have him with us. I would like to play him as an attacking midfielder rather than a defensive one, and I hope he can make his presence felt on the team.”
The match is to kick off at 7:10 p.m.

Squad:
Goalkeepers—Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale), Shusaku Nishikawa (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
Defenders—Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F. Marinos), Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Nagoya Grampus), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Yuhei Tokunaga (FC Tokyo), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers), Taisuke Muramatsu (Shonan Bellmare)
Midfielders—Mitsuo Ogasawara (Kashima Antlers), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Naohiro Ishikawa (FC Tokyo), Yuki Abe (Urawa Reds), Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Mu Kanazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Shinji Kagawa (Cerezo Osaka)
Forwards—Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Hisato Sato (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Sota Hirayama (FC Tokyo), Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse), Shinzo Koroki (Kashima Antlers)
Coach—Takeshi Okada