Tokyo, Jun 02: Japan's national football coach Zico today named a 27-man squad for the upcoming friendlies against Argentina and Paraguay and the Confederations Cup, which includes Parma midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata and three other European-based players.
Nakata, Hamburg SV striker Naohiro Takahara, Reggina Playmaker Shunsuke Nakamura and Feyenoord's Shinji Ono were the only additions to the squad, beaten by South Korea 1-0 in Tokyo on Saturday.
The squad also includes Cerezo Osaka striker Yoshito Okubo, who played in Saturday's game against South Korea as a substitute, and uncapped fellow Japan under-22 players Naohiro Ishikawa (FC Tokyo) and Daisuke Matsui (Kyoto Purple Sanga).
Japan hosts Argentina in the Western city of Osaka on Sunday and Paraguay in Saitama, near Tokyo, on June 11 in the annual Kirin Cup.
The Japanese team then leaves for France for the June 18-29 Confederations Cup where they are grouped with hosts and defending champions France, which beat Japan 1-0 in the 2001 Confederations Cup final in Japan, Colombia, and New Zealand.



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



Defenders - Yutaka Akita (Kashima Antlers), Akira Narahashi (Kashima Antlers), Toshihiro Hattori (Jubilo Iwata), Nobuhisa Yamada (Urawa Reds), Ryuzo Morioka (Shimizu S-Pulse), Keisuke Tsuboi (Urawa Reds), Tsuneyasu Miyamoto (Gamba Osaka).



Midfielders - Daisuke Oku (Yokohama F Marinos), Takashi Fukunishi (Jubilo Iwata), Hidetoshi Nakata (Parma), Alessandro Santos (Shimizu S-Pulse), Shunsuke Nakamura (Reggina), Mitsuo Ogasawara (Kashima Antlers), Koji Nakata (Kashima Antlers), Junichi Inamoto (Fulham), Shinji Ono (Feyenoord), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Daisuke Matsui (Kyoto Purple Sanga), Naohiro Ishikawa (FC Tokyo).



Strikers - Masashi Nakayama (Jubilo Iwata), Takayuki Suzuki (Genk), Yuichiro Nagai (Urawa Reds), Naohiro Takahara (Hamburg SV), Yoshito Okubo (Cerezo Osaka).


Bureau Report