Japan national coach Takeshi Okada has recalled Urawa Reds striker Tatsuya Tanaka to his squad ahead of the upcoming World Cup qualifier away to Qatar.
Tanaka, who started in the 3-2 win in Bahrain in September but was left out of the squad for last month's home qualifier against Uzbekistan, was named on the list of 25 players released Thursday by the Japan Football Association.
Gamba Osaka pair Michihiro Yasuda and Hideo Hashimoto also returned to the Japan party after helping their J. League side to a 3-0 win over Australia's Adelaide United in the first leg of the Asian Champions League final on Wednesday.
Okada's men will play Syria in Kobe on Nov. 13 in a warmup friendly for the match in Doha six days later. Celtic's Shunsuke Nakamura and fellow European-based players Daisuke Matsui and Makoto Hasebe are scheduled to join the squad in Doha on Nov. 14.