Japan National Team News
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Japan national team manager Ivica Osim on Sunday named two more old boys to his squad in the run-up to this summer’s Asian Cup.
FC Basel’s Koji Nakata (56 caps) and Nagoya Grampus Eight goalkeeper Seigo Narazaki (50 caps) join Celtic’s Shunsuke Nakamura and Eintracht Frankfurt striker Naohiro Takahara as the latest everpresents from the Zico era to be brought back into the fold.
Osim named 27 players to his squad that will face Montenegro in Shizuoka on June 1 and Colombia in Saitama on June 5 as tune-ups for the continental competition being co-hosted by Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand this July.
Two-time defending champions Japan play Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam in the group stage of the competition.
SQUAD:
GK
Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata)
Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus Eight)
Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale)
DF
Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F Marinos)
Koji Nakata (FC Basel)
Keisuke Tsuboi (Urawa Reds)
Yuichi Komano Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
Hiroki Mizumoto (JEF United Chiba)
Naoaki Aoyama (Shimizu S-Pulse)
MF
Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic)
Hideo Hashimoto (Gamba Osaka)
Naotake Hanyu (JEF United Chiba)
Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka)
Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale)
Keita Suzuki (Urawa Reds)
Yuki Abe (Urawa Reds)
Yasuyuki Konno (F.C. Tokyo)
Satoru Yamagishi (JEF United Chiba)
Jungo Fujimoto (Shimizu S-Pulse)
Koki Mizuno (JEF United Chiba)
Keisuke Honda (Nagoya Grampus Eight)
Akihiro Ienaga (Gamba Osaka)
FW
Naohiro Takahara (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Ryuji Bando (Gamba Osaka)
Seiichiro Maki (JEF United Chiba)
Hisato Sato (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
Kisho Yano (Albirex Niigata)
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