By Jeremy Walker
TOKYO (June 8)--Japan's national coach Philippe Troussier has
kept faith with Cerezo Osaka's prolific marksmen Hiroaki Morishima
and Akinori Nishizawa for this month's Kirin Cup.
Morishima and Nishizawa, who were both on target in a 2-2 draw
with world champions France in the King Hassan II Cup semi-final
in Morocco last Sunday, were named in a 17-strong squad for Sunday's
Kirin Cup opener against Slovakia at Miyagi Stadium, near Sendai.
Troussier left out his three players based in Europe--Hidetoshi
Nakata, Hiroshi Nanami and Shoji Jo--and also rested some of the
older players, such as Kazuyoshi Miura and Masashi Nakayama, who
is injured.
But Morishima, Cerezo's 28-year-old captain and midfield dynamo,
and centre-forward Nishizawa, who will be 24 on June 18, were
both retained to provide experience to a generally young squad
aimed at Olympic preparation.
Troussier will add five more players from the under-23 training
camp next week for Japan's second game in the Kirin Cup, against
Bolivia at Yokohama International Stadium on June 18.
After arriving back in Tokyo from Morocco on Thursday afternoon,
Troussier said: "I am very satisfied with our performances in
Morocco.
"We were able to show our technique, our tactics and our talent,
and everyone could recognise how much Japanese soccer has progressed.
"I felt the players grew individually, not only as football
players but also as characters, by being in Morocco and experiencing
life together."
Troussier said AS Roma midfielder Nakata was rested because
he was "exhausted." Nanami is trying to negotiate a transfer from
his relegated Italian club Venezia, possibly to Spain, and Jo
is hoping to make his move to Real Valladolid permanent after
joining initially on loan from the Yokohama F Marinos.
Japan's 17-strong squad for the Slovakia game
on June 11 is:
Goalkeepers: Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Yokohama F Marinos),
Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus Eight).
Defenders: Go Oiwa (Grampus Eight), Eisuke Nakanishi (JEF
United), Ryuzo Morioka (Shimizu S-Pulse), Naoki Matsuda (F Marinos),
Yuji Nakazawa (Verdy Kawasaki), Koji Nakata (Kashima Antlers).
Midfielders: Hiroaki Morishima (Cerezo Osaka), Atsuhiro
Miura (F Marinos), Teruyoshi Ito (S-Pulse), Daisuke Oku (Jubilo
Iwata), Shunsuke Nakamura (F Marinos), Junichi Inamoto (Gamba
Osaka).
Forwards: Akinori Nishizawa (Cerezo Osaka), Tatsuhiko Kubo
(Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Atsushi Yanagisawa (Antlers).
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