Japan to face Ecuador without European based stars

Japan coach Zico is facing up to the fact that his Europe-based stars would not be available for the warm up friendly against Ecuador in Oita Japan on Thursday.

He is of the opinion that his Europe stars are excellent but cannot be relied upon since most of them have club commitments in Europe. His current home based players have integrated themselves into the team really well and will gain valuable experience from representing their country at international level.

Former Messina forward Atsushi Yanagisawa of Kashima Antlers and former Feyenoord midfielder Shinji Ono of Urawa Red Diamonds were named in the squad for the 30 March friendly against Ecuador in Oita.

Yanagisawa made a sensational return to the J-League by scoring a hat-trick in the season opener this month, while Ono netted his first goal in Tuesday’s game since returning home from the Netherlands.

Coach Zico believes his team will be up against formidable opponents in Ecuador next Thursday.

His squad for the game against Ecuador are as follows :-

Goalkeepers: Yoichi Doi (FC Tokyo), Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata), Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus Eight)

Defenders: Makoto Tanaka (Iwata), Tsuneyasu Miyamoto (Gamba Osaka), Alessandro Santos (Urawa Red Diamonds), Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama Marinos), Keisuke Tsuboi (Urawa), Shinji Murai (Iwata), Akira Kaji (Tokyo), Yuichi Komano (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Teruyuki Minowa (Tokyo)

Midfielders: Takashi Fukunishi (Iwata), Mitsuo Ogasawara (Kashima), Shinji Ono (Urawa), Yasuhito Endo (Osaka), Yuki Abe (JEF United Chiba), Makoto Hasebe (Urawa)

Forwards: Tatsuhiko Kubo (Yokohama), Atsushi Yanagisawa (Kashima), Keiji Tamada (Nagoya), Seiichiro Maki (Chiba), Hisato Sato (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)