NEWS
Japan squad announced for World Cup qualifiers
Japan coach Takeshi Okada announced his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers on Wednesday, and it consists largely of the players who took part in the recent Kirin Cup.
The 25-strong squad includes three Europe-based players: Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura, St. Etienne midfielder Daisuke Matsui and VfL Wolfsburg midfielder Makoto Hasebe.
Two young full-backs, Yuto Nagatomo of F.C. Tokyo and Atsuto Uchida of Kashima Antlers, kept their places, as did Kawasaki Frontale defender Shuhei Terada, who made his Japan debut on Tuesday at the age of 32.
The forwards included Naohiro Takahara of Urawa Reds, Keiji Tamada of Nagoya Grampus and Yoshito Okubo of Vissel Kobe.
Japan are aiming for a top-two finish in their group that would take them into the final round of qualifiers. Japan are currently second on three points, three behind leaders Bahrain in Group 2.
Japan will play Oman on June 2 at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama and on June 7 in Muscat before meeting Thailand on June 14 in Bangkok. Japan will then host Bahrain on June 22 at Saitama Stadium.
Okada commented, "I am taking these 25 players as a unit. I want to play the first three qualifying matches with them."
In the Kirin Cup, Japan beat Ivory Coast 1-0 on Saturday and drew 0-0 with Paraguay on Wednesday to win the annual three-nation tournament.
Squad:
Goalkeepers—Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata), Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki 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 (F.C. Tokyo), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers)
Midfielders—Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Daisuke Matsui (Saint-Etienne), Keita Suzuki (Urawa Reds), Koji Yamase (Yokohama F. Marinos), Yasuyuki Konno (F.C. Tokyo), Makoto Hasebe (VfL Wolfsburg), Shinji Kagawa (Cerezo Osaka)
Forwards—Naohiro Takahara (Urawa Reds), Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Seiichiro Maki (JEF United Chiba), Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Kisho Yano (Albirex Niigata)
Coach—Takeshi Okada
