SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) coach Vahid HALILHODZIC announced his 25-man squad on Thursday 26 May for the KIRIN CUP SOCCER 2016 to be held in early June. In addition to regular stars such as forward OKAZAKI Shinji (Leicester City Football Club/ England), forward HONDA Keisuke (AC Milan/ Italy) and midfielder KAGAWA Shinji (Borussia Dortmund/ Germany), two newcomers were selected for the upcoming tournament: midfielder KOBAYASHI Yuki (Jubilo Iwata) and U-23 national midfielder OHSHIMA Ryota (Kawasaki Frontale).

Ohshima's teammates with U-23 Japan National Team – forward ASANO Takuma (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) and midfielder ENDO Wataru (Urawa Reds) – were also named on the squad. Asano's call-up is for the first time since the EAFF East Asian Cup last August.

Halilhodzic says, "I knew how good Ohshima's passes are, and he has been more aggressive in winning the ball recently." He added on Kobayashi Yuki, "He's got capability in the domestic league."

"Asano is one of the few goal scorers in Japan. He's very promising," mentions the Japan boss on his expectation on Asano. But when it comes to the whole group of domestic players, he showed his hope toward them to brace themselves up and improve more. “They are fringe players. I'm not content."

The first KIRIN CUP after a five-year interval is held in a knockout system among four countries. Japan face Bulgaria on Friday 3, while Bosnia Herzegovina and Denmark square off in the other match. The result of the matches determines which team become Japan's opponents in the final or third-place match on Tuesday 7.

Those are the last international matches for Japan before the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final Qualifiers getting underway this September.

Halilhodzic says, "those three teams play differently and have different types of experience. They are high in quality as well. We've got to seek all kinds of quality, and I want the players and the team to go out seriously with a big aspiration.

Bulgaria stand in the 69th place in the FIFA world ranking, yet won against eighth-placed Portugal in an away international match in March this year. No. 20 Bosnia Herzegovina and No. 41 Denmark both fell short in the 2016 Euro Qualifier Playoff last November against Ireland and Sweden respectively.

Halilhodzic commented on Japan's past record against Bulgaria, which is four losses and one draw, "It's big if we can beat such a team. But we need to be prepared on and off the pitch. It's going to be a good preparation for the final qualifying round."

On the same day, Okazaki joined other overseas-based players in Chiba training. Asano is also scheduled to follow after getting back on Friday 27 from the Toulon Tournament taking place in France.

Meanwhile, Ohshima is joining on Monday 30 after the tournament finishes along with Endo and other J.Leaguers. The team are moving to Aichi and beginning a camp with the full squad on the same day.

The first two matches are played on Friday 3 June at Toyota Stadium in Aichi, and the second pair are held on Tuesday 7 at Suita City Stadium in Osaka.

Coach and Players' Comments

Vahid HALILHODZIC, Coach of SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team)
We've got to seek all kinds of quality, and I want the players and the team to go out seriously with a big aspiration. We will try to win against the teams that are thought to be better than us and get ready to make it happen.

Our group in the FIFA World Cup Final Asian Qualifiers is not easy, and we need to build up a lot of things. The KIRIN CUP is going to be a good preparation for that. I've got around the country to watch matches till the very last minute before this camp and figured out who to bring in. Young players from the Olympics team are also joining. How they are going to play is something to find out from now on, but I called them up to know them better.

The overseas-based players are tired not only physically but also mentally, and some of them spent a good season like Okazaki winning the championship with Leicester, while there are some other players who experienced disappointments for example by their team’s relegation. I've been sending a message to domestic players in the past months, but to be honest, I'm not content. The battling attitude and playing pace is different between J.League and overseas leagues. It's just like a bike and Ferrari.

Japanese players can run faster and play more physical. No Japanese team reached the last 8 in the ACL. Why? Other countries are improving, and the Japanese sides need to question. Looking at what's happening overseas, they've got to apply the modern football to the strength of Japan like their spirit, battling attitude and speed, in my opinion.

FW  OKAZAKI Shinji (Leicester City Football Club)
It was a great season as my team ended up winning the championship. I thought we were going to play a relegation battle at the beginning of the season and kept telling myself that each one of the matches was important. But in the final phase, I felt the team had gotten stronger and actually won more than any clubs in terms of this season. I expected there was something in the Premier League that surpasses what I originally imagined and I actually wanted it. In that sense, the league had the tough environment as I expected. My year turned out to be fulfilling.

In the World Cup qualifying round 2, most teams sat back in their end, but there will be not only such teams but ones who come aggressively. I think the opponents in the KIRIN CUP are playing like that. So the key will be how we can play against such teams. When each one of our players brings out his strength, it's going to be our team's weapon. When you come to the national team, you should bring your strength. Young players can show more of what they have. Such competitiveness makes the team stronger.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

Schedule

*The schedule is subject to change due to the team condition, the weather, etc.

KIRIN CUP SOCCER 2016

Held in knockout system among SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team), Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Denmark.

2016-6-3 (Fri.) Aichi/Toyota Stadium
16:00 kick-off (subject to change)  Bosnia Herzegovina National Team vs Denmark National Team
19:40 kick-off (subject to change)  SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) vs Bulgaria National Team

2016-6-7 (Tue,) Osaka/Suita City Football Stadium
16:00 kick-off (subject to change)  Bosnia Herzegovina National Team or Denmark National Team vs Bulgaria National Team
19:30 kick-off (subject to change)  SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) vs Bosnia Herzegovina National Team or Denmark National Team

More information

KIRIN CUP MUSEUM

Japan against the world, KIRIN CUP MUSEUM tracing the history is now open!