NEWS

Jubilo Iwata forward Ryoichi Maeda was called up for the Japan squad on Sunday in place of the injured Yoshito Okubo of Vissel Kobe the games against the Netherlands on September 5 and Ghana on September 9. Both matches will take place in the Netherlands.

Okubo hurt his back in a J. League match against Urawa Reds on Saturday. Japan coach Takeshi Okada decided to replace him with Maeda, who has scored 12 goals so far this season.
Maeda, 27, joins in the Japan squad for the first time since July 2008 when he had to leave due to an injury in the middle of a training camp.