Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni has included strikers Mike Havenaar and Shinji Okazaki in his 23-man squad for 2014 World Cup qualifying matches against North Korea and Tajikistan later this month.
Zaccheroni also selected Inter Milan defender Yuto Nagatomo, Wolfsburg midfielder Makoto Hasebe and Borussia Dortmund striker Shinji Kagawa in the group for the two-match trip.
Okazaki, who plays for German club Stuttgart, scored twice in Japan's 8-0 thrashing of Tajikistan in last month's Group C match at Osaka. Havenaar, of the J-League's Ventforet Kofu, also scored two goals in that game.
Japan plays at Tajikistan on Nov. 11 and then takes on North Korea at Pyongyang on Nov. 15. It will be the first time Japan has played in North Korea since 1989.
Unbeaten Japan is on top of Group C, equal on seven points with Uzbekistan but ahead on goal difference.
Zaccheroni also called up Jubilo Iwata striker Ryoichi Maeda, who missed the first three qualifiers but has three goals in five J-League matches.
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Squad:
Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima (Lierse), Kaito Yamamoto (Shimizu S-Pulse), Shusaku Nishikawa (Sanfrecce Hiroshima).
Defenders: Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Yuzo Kurihara (Yokohama F Marinos), Masahiko Inoha (Hajduk Split), Yuto Nagatomo (Inter Milan), Tomoaki Makino (Cologne), Atsuto Uchida (Schalke 04), Maya Yoshida (VVV Venlo).
Midfielders: Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Yuki Abe (Leicester City), Makoto Hasebe (Wolfsburg), Hajime Hosogai (Augsburg).
Forwards: Ryoichi Maeda (Jubilo Iwata), Tadanari Lee (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Shinji Okazaki (Stuttgart), Mike Havenaar (Ventforet Kofu), Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund), Hiroshi Kiyotake (Cerezo Osaka), Genki Haraguchi (Urawa Reds).
