Japan at full strength for World Cup qualifiers
Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni will have a full-strength squad for the team's 2014 World Cup qualifying matches against North Korea and Uzbekistan next month.
The Italian coach included European-based strikers Shinji Kagawa, Keisuke Honda and Shinji Okazaki in his 23-man team announced on Thursday.
Kagawa, who plays for Borussia Dortmund, scored two goals in Japan's 3-0 victory over South Korea in a friendly this month in Sapporo, after being sidelined from internationals for seven months with a metatarsal injury.
Captain Makoto Hasebe will once again marshal the midfield for Zaccheroni, who is unbeaten in his 13 matches as Japan coach.
Japan will play North Korea on Sept. 2 in Saitama in its first Group C match, then travel to Tashkent to take on Uzbekistan on Sept. 6.
The Japan Football Association also announced Thursday that Japan will play a friendly against Vietnam on Oct. 7 in Kobe before returning to World Cup qualifying against Tajikistan in Osaka on Oct. 11.
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Squad:
Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima (Lierse SK), Shusaku Nishikawa (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Shuichi Gonda (FC Tokyo).
Defenders: Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Yuzo Kurihara (Yokohama F. Marinos), Masahiko Inoha (Hajduk Split), Tomoaki Makino (FC Koln), Atsuto Uchida (Shalke), Maya Yoshida (VVV Venlo).
Midfielders: Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Yuki Abe (Leicester), Makoto Hasebe (Wolfsburg), Hajime Hosogai (Augsburg), Yosuke Kashiwagi (Urawa Reds).
Forwards: Tadanari Lee (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Shinji Okazaki (VfB Stuttgart), Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow), Takayuki Morimoto (Novara), Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund), Hiroshi Kiyotake (Cerezo Osaka), Genki Haraguchi (Urawa Reds).