Seventeen-year-old J. League star Takefusa Kubo on Thursday received his first call-up to Japan's senior national squad for next month's friendlies against Trinidad and Tobago and El Salvador.
Kubo, an attacking midfielder for FC Tokyo, was one of three uncapped players named to the squad, joining Yuta Nakayama, 22, a center-back with Dutch first-division club PEC Zwolle, and Sanfrecce Hiroshima goalkeeper Keisuke Osako, 19.
"We want to incorporate a new generation (of players) and give them deeper exposure to our team tactics," Samurai Blue manager Hajime Moriyasu said.