Midfielder Shinji Ono has been named in the Japan team that will face Uruguay in Sapporo next week.
Japan have been grouped with Australia, Bahrain, Qatar and Uzbekistan of their final qualifying round for the World Cup in Group A. And the Japanese will face off against Bahrain in the opening match on September 6.
The Japanese will prepare for the match against the Bahrainis by taking on Uruguay and coach Takeshi Okada has named a strong 19-man squad for the friendly.
The most notable inclusion would be VfL Bochum midfielder Shinji Ono. Ono, 29, last played for Japan in June 2006 during the World Cup in Germany. He has earned 55 caps for his country, scoring six goals.
VfL Wolfsburg midfielder Makoto Hasebe is another Bundesliga-based player who will return to Japan for the friendly.
Okada expressed his delight over Ono’s return to the national team.
"Ono couldn't play towards the end of the last season because of an injury, but in what I saw of his two games, he can play. He can join us from the first day of a training camp and I thought it was a good chance,” he told the AFC website.
The former Yokohama F Marinos boss added the friendly would be important for him to gauge the abilities and strengths of his players.
"These players are not only for the match against Uruguay. I need them also for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. I want to test how they play," said Okada.
Japan Squad:
Goalkeepers: Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata), Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus);
Defenders: Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F. Marinos), Kazumichi Takagi (Shimizu S-Pulse), Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Urawa Reds), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Yuki Abe (Urawa Reds)
Midfielders: Shinji Ono (VfL Bochum), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Keita Suzuki (Urawa Reds), Koji Yamase (Yokohama F. Marinos), Takeshi Aoki (Kashima Antlers), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Makoto Hasebe (VfL Wolfsburg); Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus)
Forwards: Masashi Oguro (Tokyo Verdy), Hisato Sato (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Tatsuya Tanaka (Urawa Reds)
