The Japan Football Association on Thursday announced its squad for Japan’s upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Iraq and Australia.
11 J.League players, including Kashima Antlers midfielder Ryota Nagaki in his first call-up, have been summoned to Vahid Halilhodzic’s 26-man squad.
The Samurai Blue will host Iraq on October 6 at Saitama Stadium before facing the Socceroos at Docklands Stadium in Melbourne on October 11.
Japan National Team Squad:
■GK
Shusaku Nishikawa (Urawa Reds)
Masaaki Higashiguchi (Gamba Osaka)
Eiji Kawashima (Football Club de Metz / France)
■DF
Hiroki Sakai (Olympique de Marseille / France)
Gotoku Sakai (Hamburger SV / Germany)
Yuto Nagatomo (FC Internazionale Milano / Italy)
Kosuke Ota (SBV Vitesse / Netherlands)
Maya Yoshida (Southampton / England)
Tomoaki Makino (Urawa Reds)
Masato Morishige (FC Tokyo)
Yuichi Maruyama (FC Tokyo)
Naomichi Ueda (Kashima Antlers)
■MF
Makoto Hasebe (Eintracht Frankfurt / Germany)
Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka)
Yosuke Kashiwagi (Urawa Reds)
Ryota Nagaki (Kashima Antlers)
Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund / Germany)
Hiroshi Kiyotake (Sevilla FC / Spain)
Ryota Oshima (Kawasaki Frontale)
■FW
Keisuke Honda (AC Milan / Italy)
Yu Kobayashi (Kawasaki Frontale)
Takashi Usami (FC Augsburg / Germany)
Genki Haraguchi (Hertha BSC Berlin / Germany)
Shinji Okazaki (Leicester City / England)
Yoshinori Muto (1.FSV Mainz 05 / Germany)
Takuma Asano (VfB Stuttgart / Germany)