Kazumichi Takagi and Ryuta Tsuzuki called up for Blue Samurai

Due to recent injuries Takeshi Okada has called Shimizu S-Pulse defender Kazumichi Takagi and Urawa Red Diamonds 'keeper Ryuta Tsuzuki to the Blue Samurai for the upcoming friendly against Syria.

Yuji Nakazawa out with injury

Takeshi Okada's Blue Samurai's were dealt a tough blow as Yokohama F-Marinos Yuji Nakazawa has been forced to pull-out of the lineup with a muscle strain he suffered in a J-League match against Kyoto Purple Sanga. This situation is further complicated as it is questionable that Celtic's Shunsuke Nakamura will be recovered in time for the Qatar match.

Takeshi Okada’s squad to face Qatar

With the Qatar match looming ahead, Takeshi Okada named his squad, featuring Shunsuke Nakamura of Celtic, Daisuke Matsui of St. Etienne and Makoto Hasebe of VfL Wolfsburg. Due to an injury Junichi Inamoto has been left off but should he recover he is likely to be recalled. Included in the list are returnees Michihiro Yasuda and Hideo Hashimoto of Gamba Osaka and Urawa Red Diamonds Tatsuya Tanaka. As part of their tuneup they will play Syria in a Kirin Challenge Cup friendly on November 13 in Kobe. After the announcement it was revealed that ‘keeper Seigo Narazaki of Nagoya Grampus sustained an ankle injury and is unlikely to be available.

Squad:
Goalkeepers—Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata), Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale)
Defenders—Shuhei Terada (Kawasaki Frontale), Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F. Marinos), Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Urawa Reds), Yuichi Konno (Jubilo Iwata), Yuki Abe (Urawa Reds), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Michihiro Yasuda (Gamba Osaka), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers)
Midfielders—Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic), Hideo Hashimoto (Gamba), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Daisuke Matsui (St. Etienne), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Makoto Hasebe (VfL Wolfsburg), Shinji Kagawa (Cerezo Osaka)
Forwards—Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Seiichiro Maki (JEF United Chiba), Hisato Sato (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Tatsuya Tanaka (Urawa Reds), Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse)