Samurai Blue head coach Hajime Moriyasu announced his call-ups for Japan’s upcoming international fixtures on Thursday, marking the return of J. League players to the national team picture for the first time since the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Japan will host archrival South Korea in a March 25 friendly at Yokohama’s Nissan Stadium before facing Mongolia in a World Cup qualifier on March 30. The latter game, set to take place at Fukuda Denshi Arena in Chiba, will be held behind closed doors as it was relocated from Mongolia due to pandemic-related travel restrictions.
“I’m very happy to be able to play these games and want to thank everyone for making this possible,” Moriyasu said. “We understand that there is debate over whether we should be playing during the pandemic. But we hope people will understand the significance of the national team representing Japan in these times.”