NEWS

 

Japan coach Takeshi Okada on Saturday named the 23-strong Japan squad for Wednesday’s World Cup final-round qualifier with Uzbekistan in Saitama.

Kashima Antlers midfielder Takeshi Aoki, defender Masato Morishige and his Oita Trinita teammate and forward Yasuhito Morishima left the squad.
Kawasaki Frontale defender Shuhei Terada, who started in Thursday’s 1-1 draw with the Untied Arab Emirates in a Kirin Challenge Cup friendly in Niigata, also left due to an injury on Friday.
The match is to kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Saitama Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Squad:
Goalkeepers—Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata), Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale)
Defenders—Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F. Marinos), Kazumichi Takagi (Shimizu S-Pulse), Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Urawa Reds), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Yuki Abe (Urawa Reds), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers)
Midfielders—Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic), Junichi Inamoto (Eintracht Frankfurt), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Yasuhiko Konno (FC Tokyo), Makoto Hasebe (VfL Wolfsburg), Shinji Kagawa (Cerezo Osaka)
Forwards—Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Seiichiro Maki (JEF United Chiba), Hisato Sato (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse), Shinzo Koroki (Kashima Antlers)
Coach—Takeshi Okada