NEWS

Japan coach Takeshi Okada on Thursday named his squad to play against Syria in a Kirin Challenge Cup friendly match on November 13 in Kobe and Qatar in the final round of the FIFA 2010 World Cup qualifiers, scheduled for November 19 in Doha.

The 25-strong squad was formed around players Okada has called up previously and features three Europe-based players – Shunsuke Nakamura of Celtic, Daisuke Matsui of St. Etienne and Makoto Hasebe of VfL Wolfsburg.
Junichi Inamoto was not included in the initial list due to a hamstring problem. But the 52-year-old Japan coach said that he may call up the Frankfurt midfielder depending on his performance in his team’s league game on November 15.
Matsui, left-back Michihiro Yasuda and his Gamba Osaka teammate midfielder Hideo Hashimoto, as well as Urawa Reds forward Tatsuya Tanaka, have all returned to the squad.
“I know that the game with Qatar in Doha will be played in a special atmosphere,” Okada said. “That’s why I’ve selected those players who know our style of play and have strong motivation to play for the country.”
Okada will face Syria without any players from Gamba, who will play the second leg of the AFC Champions League final in Adelaide on November 12, and those Europe-based players who have league games over the weekend of November 15-16.
The Gamba players will join the squad after returning home from Adelaide, while the Europe-based players will join them in Doha.
“In the Syria game, I’d like to check our fundamentals and what we’ve worked on before,” Okada said.
Asked about Qatar, Okada commented: “Since they changed their coach, Qatar have played once, in a somewhat defensive style. But I suppose they will have a different approach when they play us at home.”
“Their players are very skillful and we must compete hard against them,” Okada emphasized.
The Japan-Syria game will be played at Homes Stadium Kobe on Thursday (kickoff at 7:20 p.m.) next week and the Qatar-Japan qualifier is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. local time in Doha on November 19.

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 Konno (Jubilo Iwata), Yuki Abe (Urawa Reds), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Michihiro Yasuda (Gamba Osaka), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers)
Midfielders—Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic), Hideo Hashimoto (Gamba), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Daisuke Matsui (St. Etienne), Yasuyuki 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), Tatsuya Tanaka (Urawa Reds), Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse)
Coach—Takeshi Okada