Squad for Peru and Czech Republic

May 29th, 2011 | by: Aidan | Comments Off

Alberto Zaccheroni has named his squad for the upcoming Kirin Cup matches with Peru and Czech Republic and included three new names – and none of them are Ryo Miyaichi!

The three new guys are forward Takashi Usami of Gamba Osaka (one of the J-League’s rising young stars), and in midfield Daigo Nishi of Kashima Antlers and Kosei Shibasaki of Kawasaki Frontale.

Says the boss man Big Zac…

“These two matches are precious opportunities for us to prepare for the World Cup qualifiers in September, following our withdrawal from the Copa America. The results are important. But more importantly, I want to see the development of our team and also get to know the players. It’s a great opportunity to see some unfamiliar players.

“I called up some new players and some who hadn’t been called up for a while, as they have shown good performances in their leagues. I hope that they can show their growth and give me a hard time when deciding my team for the games, as Maya Yoshida did in the Asian Cup.”

“The players in the Asian Cup grew through the tournament. So I believe this is also a good opportunity to give some younger players a chance to develop their game, especially when we think about the World Cup in three years time.”

Some of those he’s referring to coming back into the squad includes Shinzo Koroki of Kashima and Akihiro Ienaga of Real Mallorca, but it’s a shame we won’t get to see a first run out for Ryo Miyaichi in the national team this time.

On the two opponents Japan will face Zac added..

“Peru and the Czech Republic are two different types of teams, but they have a similar characteristic: They are both fighting teams. Peru play with all their might, and the Czech Republic played very well against Spain recently. I hope we can learn something by playing these teams with a different styles.”

Full squad:

Goalkeepers—Eiji Kawashima (Lierse SK), Masaaki Higashiguchi (Albirex Niigata), Shusaku Nishikawa (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)

Defenders—Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Yuzo Kurihara (Yokohama F. Marinos), Masahiko Inoha (Kashima Antlers), Yuto Nagatomo (Inter Milan), Tomoaki Makino (1FC Koln), Michihiro Yasuda (SBV Vitesse), Atsuto Uchida (Shalke 04), Maya Yoshida (VVV Venlo)

Midfielders—Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Makoto Hasebe (VfL Volfsburg), Kosei Shibasaki (Kawasaki Frontale), Ryota Moriwaki (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Hajime Hosogai (FC Augsburg), Akihiro Ienaga (RDC Mallorca), Daigo Nishi (Kashima Antlers)

Forwards—Ryoichi Maeda (Jubilo Iwata), Tadanari Lee (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Kunimitsu Sekiguchi (Vegalta Sendai), Shinji Okazaki (VfB Stuttgart), Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow), Shinzo Koroki (Kashima Antlers), Takashi Usami (Gamba Osaka)

Japan play Peru on 1st June in at the Big Swan in Niigata, before playing the Czechs on 7th June in Yokohama. Peru face the Czechs on 4th June in the delightful town of Matsumoto.