Japan will play Germany in an international soccer friendly next May in a warmup for the 2006 World Cup, Japan Football Association President Saburo Kawabuchi said Tuesday.
The match is scheduled to be held on May 30 in Germany's Leverkusen but will be called off if Japan and Germany are drawn in the same group for the World Cup final competition to take place from June 9 to July 9.
The draw is held in December. Germany, the host for the 2006 World Cup, made a request to play Japan and had already announced the friendly match in its schedule at the end of August.