Tokyo - AFP
Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni on Thursday named Borussia Dortmund's Shinji Kagawa in his squad for the friendly against rivals South Korea, the star man's first call-up since he broke a bone in his foot. Zaccheroni also gives a first chance at senior level to 21-year-old Cerezo Osaka forward Hiroshi Kiyotake for next Wednesday's clash, the last game before World Cup qualifying. Attacking midfielder Kagawa broke a metatarsal bone in a game against South Korea at the Asian Cup in January and ended up missing the rest of the season. "Kiyotake has consistently shown high-quality play for his club and the under-22 team," said the Italian Zaccheroni, who included 14 Europe-based players in his 23-man squad. "Our goal is to qualify for the World Cup. I want to threaten any teams by further improving the accuracy of our play. Our team can mature by playing serious games," said the former AC Milan boss. The Blue Samurai will be missing Inter Milan full-back Yuto Nagatomo, who has dislocated his right shoulder, and injured striker Ryoichi Maeda of Iwata, twice the J-League's top scorer. Japan kick off their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign on September 2 against North Korea. Squad: Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima (Lierse SK/BEL), Masaaki Higashiguchi (Albirex Niigata), Shusaku Nishikawa (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) Defenders: Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Yuzo Kurihara (Yokohama Marinos), Masahiko Inoha (Hajduk Split), Tomoaki Makino (1FC Koln/GER), Atsuto Uchida (FC Schalke/GER), Maya Yoshida (VVV Venlo/NED) Midfielders: Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Yuki Abe (Leicester/ENG), Makoto Hasebe (Wolfsburg/GER), Hajime Hosogai (FC Augsburg/GER), Akihiro Ienaga (RCD Mallorca/ESP), Yosuke Kashiwagi (Urawa Red Diamonds) Forwards: Daisuke Matsui (Dijon/FRA), Tadanari Lee (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Shinji Okazaki (VfB Stuttgart/GER), Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow/RUS), Takayuki Morimoto (Novara/ITA), Shinji Kagawa (Dortmund/GER), Hiroshi Kiyotake (Cerezo Osaka)