Kagawa named in Japan squad



Kagawa has struggled to win a regular starting spot at Old Trafford since his move from Borussia Dortmund in June 2012, but Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni has still named him in his party for Brazil this summer. Southampton defender Maya Yoshida is also among 12 Europe-based players selected by Zaccheroni. AC Milan midfielder Keisuke Honda has also been included along with Mainz forward Shinji Okazaki. Joining them are veteran forward Yoshito Okubo, who played for Japan in South Africa four years ago and has scored eight goals this season for J-League club Kawasaki Frontale. Japan, who co-hosted the World Cup with South Korea in 2002, are preparing for their fifth consecutive World Cup campaign and face Ivory Coast, Greece and Colombia in Group C. Squad in full: Eiji Kawashima (Standard Liege), Shusaku Nishikawa (Urawa Reds), Shuichi Gonda (FC Tokyo), Masato Morishige (FC Tokyo), Yasuyuki Konno (Gamba Osaka), Yuto Nagatomo (Inter Milan), Maya Yoshida (Southampton), Masahiko Inoha (Jubilo Iwata), Atsuto Uchida (Schalke 04), Hiroki Sakai (Hannover 96), Gotoku Sakai (VfB Stuttgart), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Keisuke Honda (AC Milan), Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United), Makoto Hasebe (FC Nuremberg), Hiroshi Kiyotake (FC Nuremberg), Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka), Toshihiro Aoyama (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Manabu Saito (Yokohama F Marinos), Shinji Okazaki (Mainz), Yoichiro Kakitani (Cerezo Osaka), Yuya Osako (TSV Munich 1860), Yoshito Okubo (Kawasaki Frontale)

Popular posts from this blog

JAMIE REDKNAPP: Manchester United have dominated for years... but rivals City are the future of English football

Liverpool and Southampton show interest in signing Cardiff defender Steven Caulker

Brendan Rodgers wants five summer signings to boost Liverpool's Champions League bid