REUTERS
November 4, 2021 at 17:47 JST
Takefusa Kubo, center, during a men's soccer match against South Africa at the Tokyo Olympics on July 22 (The Asahi Shimbun)
Ritsu Doan and Takefusa Kubo will not be on Japan’s squad for this month’s World Cup qualifiers against Vietnam and Oman as the two continue to recover from injury.
Doan hurt his knee during training for Japan’s loss against Saudi Arabia last month and has yet to return to action for club side PSV Eindhoven after being ruled out for a month.
Kubo also suffered a knee injury playing for Mallorca against Real Madrid ahead of last month’s qualifiers and has not featured since for the Spanish club.
Head coach Hajime Moriyasu called up winger Kaoru Mitoma as well as strikers Daizen Maeda and Ayase Ueda in a squad that features six changes from the one selected for October’s vital win over Australia.
Kawasaki Frontale defensive trio Shogo Taniguchi, Miki Yamane and Reo Hatate have also been included in the 27-man squad after helping their club claim a fourth domestic league title in five seasons on Wednesday.
The Japanese, who have qualified for every World Cup since 1998, have struggled so far, with Moriyasu under pressure after just two wins in their opening four games in the final phase of Asian preliminaries for Qatar 2022.
Moriyasu’s team are in fourth place in Group B of the continent’s qualifying tournament, with the top two guaranteed a berth at the finals next year.
Japan takes on Vietnam in Hanoi on Nov. 11 before traveling to Muscat to face Oman--who defeated them at Saitama Stadium in September--five days later. Japan squad Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima, Shuichi Gonda, Kosei Tani Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Maya Yoshida, Hiroki Sakai, Shogo Taniguchi, Miki Yamane, Sei Muroya, Ko Itakura, Yuta Nakayama, Reo Hatate, Takehiro Tomiyasu Midfielders: Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Takumi Minamino, Kyogo Furuhashi, Daichi Kamada, Hidemasa Morita, Kaoru Mitoma, Ao Tanaka Forwards: Daizen Maeda, Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Ayase Ueda
SOCCER/ Japan focusing on World Cup qualifiers vs Saudis, Australia
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RUGBY/ Japan names 19 World Cup veterans in squad to face Lions
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