Japan coach Norio Sasaki says his players must adapt to life without talismanic midfielder Homare Sawa as he named his squad for the team's first training camp since the former Women's World Player of the Year retired last month.
Sasaki named a squad of 26 players for the Jan. 18-26 camp in Okinawa ahead of the final round of Asian qualifiers for this summer's Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Sawa played a pivotal role in helping Japan stun the world by winning the Women's World Cup for the first time in 2011 in Germany, where she was top scorer and also voted player of the tournament.