New national team manager Akira Nishino handed Keisuke Honda, Shinji Kagawa and Shinji Okazaki a World Cup lifeline on Friday when he named all three in his 27-man squad for Japan's final game before he chooses his roster for next month's tournament in Russia.
"You need players who can perform on the big stage," said Nishino, who took over when the Japan Football Association fired previous manager Vahid Halilhodzic last month, citing a breakdown in communication and trust with the players.
"You can't have players who freeze — players who tense up or can't make the right decisions in the big games. If you choose players like that, there's no way you will win."
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