While coaches all around the globe are putting the finishing touches to their squads for the World Cup this week, Akira Nishino will be making his first selection as Japan manager.
The Japan Football Association's decision to fire Vahid Halilhodzic last month and parachute Nishino into the hot seat two months before the World Cup kicks off in Russia on June 14 leaves the new man with just one game to run the rule over his players before the June 4 deadline for final squad submissions — a friendly against Ghana in Yokohama on May 30.
Nishino will name a 30-man squad for that game on Friday and then whittle it down to a final 23 on May 31. The complete absence of prior evidence makes predicting Nishino's final selection almost impossible, but it can at least be assumed that he will not deviate too far from his predecessor's choices at this late stage.