Japan announces World Cup squad

Japan coach Takeshi Okada on Monday named his final 23-man squad for next month’s World Cup in South Africa, sticking with tried and tested players in a lineup with few surprises.

“We are going to play aggressive in defence and offence with all these players to gain a win in South Africa,” he said.

“With these players, I want good performances and I want them to play the Japanese way,” he added.

As expected, Europe-based stars Wolfsburg’s Makoto Hasebe, CSKA Moscow’s Keisuke Honda, Grenoble’s Daisuke Matsui and Catania striker Takayuki Morimoto as well as former Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura were chosen.

Brazilian-born Marcus Tulio Tanaka and Yuji Nakazawa of Yokohama Marinos — regular defenders throughout the Okada reign — will be joined by Yuichi Komano, Daiki Iwamasa, Yasuyuki Konno, Yuto Nagatomo and Atsuto Uchida.

Goalkeeper Seigo Narazaki will make his fourth straight appearance in the quadrennial event, while former national team skipper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, who defended the goal mouth in France and Germany, makes a comeback.

At the front, Morimoto will be joined by Keiji Tamada, Yoshito Okubo, Kisho Yano and Shinji Okazaki.

“It’s important when and how we score goals. It’s not easy when our opponents play defensively. I chose these forwards thinking about quick offence,” said Okada.

Japan were in Group E, where they play Cameroon first, the Netherlands second and then Denmark.

Goalkeepers: Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale), Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata)

Defenders: Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama Marinos), Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Nagoya Grampus), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers)

Midfielders: Shunsuke Nakamura (Yokohama Marinos), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Junichi Inamoto (Kawasaki Frontale), Yuki Abe (Urawa Red Diamonds), Makoto Hasebe (Wolfsburg/GER), Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow/RUS), Daisuke Matsui (Grenoble/FRA)

Forwards: Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse), Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Yasuhito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Kisho Yano (Albirex Niigata), Takayuki Morimoto (Catania/ITA)