Japan manager Vahid Halilhodzic left two-time World Cup goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima off his 23-man squad on Thursday for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Cambodia and Afghanistan.
European-based attackers Keisuke Honda, Shinji Kagawa and Shinji Okazaki were recalled for the Cambodia game in Saitama on Sept. 3 and Afghanistan match in neutral Iran on Sept. 8, but there was no room for Kawashima, who is still looking for a new club after leaving Belgian club Standard Liege.
"This is the first time I have not included Kawashima but unfortunately he has not yet found a new club," Halilhodzic told a news conference at the Japan Football Association's headquarters in Tokyo.