National team manager Vahid Halilhodzic on Thursday warned World Cup qualifying heroes Takuma Asano and Yosuke Ideguchi to force their way onto their club teams or risk missing out on this summer's tournament in Russia as he named his squad for two friendly matches in Europe.
Halilhodzic announced a 26-man roster for games against Mali on March 23 and Ukraine on March 27, both to be played in Liege, Belgium.
But there was no place on the list for Cultural Leonesa midfielder Ideguchi or Stuttgart striker Asano, who both scored in Japan's 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Australia last August to secure the team's place at the June 14-July 15 World Cup.