Japan coach Philippe Troussier will check the state of his team's World Cup preparations Nov. 7 in a friendly against European powerhouse Italy at Saitama Stadium, a venue in which Japan will play its first World Cup game on June 4 next year.
Troussier on Tuesday called up six of his seven overseas-based players, including goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, who joined English Division One side Portsmouth 10 days ago, as well as Parma midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata, who skipped Japan's European tour earlier this month due to an ankle injury. Paraguayan club Cerro Porteno midfielder Nozomi Hiroyama didn't get the call.
Five players, including Cerezo Osaka midfielder Hiroaki Morishima, Yokohama F. Marinos midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura and Jubilo Iwata veteran striker Masashi Nakayama, have returned to the squad after being excluded from Japan for the European tour earlier this month. Joining them are familiar faces like defenders Ryuzo Morioka of Shimizu S-Pulse and Toshihiro Hattori of Jubilo and Antlers striker Atsushi Yanagisawa.