Women's world soccer champion Japan will face the United States and Brazil in upcoming London Olympic warmups without the services of talismanic midfielder Homare Sawa.
Coach Norio Sasaki on Thursday named a 23-woman squad for the three-nation Kirin Challenge Cup but was forced to leave out Sawa as the Women's World Player of the Year has not yet made a full recovery from vertigo.
Sawa, 33, had missed the final two games of the Algarve Cup earlier this month, citing cold-like symptoms before she was diagnosed.