Japan manager Takeshi Okada called up Celtic playmaker Shunsuke Nakamura for the first time Thursday as he prepares for June's do-or-die World Cup qualifying matches with two friendly matches later this month.
Japan squares off against Cote d'Ivoire and Paraguay in the Kirin Cup on May 24 and 27, in a final tuneup before completing the first-round qualifying schedule with four matches all within the space of next month.
Okada decided against selecting Nakamura for Japan's previous World Cup qualifying match against Bahrain in March, in an apparent bid to appease the midfielder's club during a busy league schedule.