NEWS

Japan coach Takeshi Okada called up three Europe-based players – Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura, Le Mans midfielder Daisuke Matsui and VfL Wolfsburg midfielder Makoto Hasebe – for his 27-member squad to play Ivory Coast and Paraguay in the Kirin Cup later this month.

Defender Yusuke Igawa of Kawasaki Frontale was called up for the first time, while fellow-defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka returned to the squad, along with his former Urawa Reds teammate Hasebe. Vissel Kobe forward Yoshito Okubo is also back in the squad.

Nakamura and Matsui have both been called up by Okada for the first time. But Junichi Inamoto of Eintracht Frankfurt and Koji Nakata of FC Basel were not included due to injuries.

Okada said, "These two matches in the Kirin Cup are very important for us to check our readiness before our upcoming World Cup qualifiers."

In the three-nation Kirin Cup, Japan will play Ivory Coast on May 24 at Toyota Stadium in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, and Paraguay on May 27 at Saitama Stadium. Ivory Coast and Paraguay will play each other on May 22 at Mitsuzawa Stadium in Yokohama.

After the annual tournament, Okada will cut his squad to 23-24 players to play Oman at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama on June 2 and away in Muscat on June 7, and move on to meet Thailand on June 14 before hosting Bahrain on June 22 in Saitama.

Okada said, "We'll go for victory [in the Kirin Cup], but I also want to see how the new players can fit into the team in those games.

"The Europe-based players can offer their specialties. Shunsuke, for example, has good skills and great kicks. I want to blend them into the team."

Okada added, "During the Kirin Cup, I'd like to focus on establishing the fundamental way of our football."

The Japanese squad will start their preparations on Tuesday in Nagoya.

Squad:
Goalkeepers—Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata), Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Eiji Kawashima (Kasawaki Frontale)

Defenders—Shuhei Terada (Kawasaki Frontale), Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F. Marinos), Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Urawa Reds), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Yuki Abe (Urawa Reds), Yusuke Igawa (Kawasaki Frontale), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Michihiro Yasuda (Gamba Osaka), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers)

Midfielders—Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawaskai Frontale), Daisuke Matsui (Le Mans), Keita Suzuki (Urawa Reds), Koji Yamase (Yokohama F. Marinos), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Makoto Hasebe (VfL Wolfsburg), Shinji Kagawa (Cerezo Osaka)

Forwards—Naohiro Takahara (Urawa Reds), Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Seiichiro Maki (JEF United Chiba), Ryoichi Maeda (Jubilo Iwata), Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Kisho Yano (Albirex Niigata)

Coach—Takeshi Okada