Japan Football Association president Motoaki Inukai said Monday he wants to try to negotiate the release of the national team's European-based players for a World Cup warmup against Serbia in Osaka.
Japan coach Takeshi Okada had initially hinted he would only be using J. League players for the April 7 friendly at Nagai Stadium, the last match before he decides on his final squad for South Africa.
But Inukai said, "I have told him (Okada) not to hold back. I want the team to be able to compete in a way that the coach can be satisfied with. It is World Cup year so there is still a bit of room for us to negotiate."
Japan last week eased some of the pressure on Okada with a 2-0 win against Bahrain in its final qualifier for the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar.