Japan coach Zico scrapped his controversial plan Friday to call up several ex-internationals including striker Kazuyoshi Miura and named an under-strength squad for the national team's upcoming final World Cup qualifier against Singapore.
The Brazilian picked an 18-man squad missing all of his European-based first-team regulars while Cerezo Osaka striker Yoshito Okubo earned a recall for the Nov. 17 clash at Saitama Stadium 2002.
With Japan already through to the final round of qualifiers for the 2006 finals in Germany, the match against Singapore has been rendered fairly meaningless.