Japan coach Vahid Halilhodzic on Thursday named Gamba Osaka striker Takashi Usami and Urawa Reds forward Shinzo Koroki to a 23-man squad and gave a handful of players their first call-ups for next month's East Asian Cup.
Koroki's club teammates Yuki Muto and Yosuke Kashiwagi also made the squad made up entirely of domestic-based players for the four-nation tournament being held in Wuhan, China.
"The important thing is results," said Halilhodzic, whose side was held to an embarrassing 0-0 draw last month at home to Singapore in its opening Asian qualifier for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.