Troussier names Japanese squad

JAPAN boss Philippe Troussier has announced a 23-man squad for next month's World Cup finals, as the Far East nation prepares to co-host with South Korea.

The Frenchman made no surprise entries to his squad and has included four overseas-based players in his selection list.

Parma midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata is included, along with Feyenoord's Shinji Ono, who enjoyed club success this season when his Dutch club claimed the Uefa Cup over Borussia Dortmund.

Troussier's side also includes two English-based players in Portsmouth goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi and Arsenal's out-of-favour midfielder Junichi Inamoto.

Both Kawaguchi and Inamoto have had difficult spells with their clubs, Kawaguchi has seen little to no action since moving to Fratton Park while Inamoto failed to make a single first-team debut with the Premiership champions.

The remainder of the squad is comprised from Japan's J-League clubs, with powerhouse Kashima Antlers and Shimizu S-Pulse well represented in Troussier's 23-man squad.

Japan face Belgium, Russia, and Tunisia in Group H of this summer's finals, with the co-hosts playing Robert Waseige's Belgian squad in Saitama on June 4.

Japan squad

Goalkeepers: Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Portsmouth), Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus Eight), Hitoshi Sogahata (Kashima Antlers)

Defenders: Yutaka Akita (Kashima Antlers), Toshihiro Hattori (Jubilo Iwata), Ryuzo Morioka (Shimizu S-Pulse), Tsuneyasu Miyamoto (Gamba Osaka), Naoki Matsuda (Yokohama Marinos), Koji Nakata (Kashima Antlers)

Midfielders: Hiroaki Morishima (Cerezo Osaka), Takashi Fukunishi (Jubilo Iwata), Hidetoshi Nakata (Parma), Alessandro Santos (Shimizu S-Pulse), Kazuyuki Toda (Shimizu S-Pulse), Tomokazu Myojin (Kashiwa Reysol), Mitsuo Ogasawara (Kashima Antlers), Junichi Inamoto (Arsenal), Shinji Ono (Feyenoord), Daisuke Ichikawa (Shimizu S-Pulse)

Strikers: Masashi Nakayama (Jubilo Iwata), Takayuki Suzuki (Kashima Antlers), Akinori Nishizawa (Cerezo Osaka), Atsushi Yanagisawa (Kashima Antlers).