Hajime Moriyasu’s Japan national soccer team has announced its roster for the September A match.

Moriyasu announced the roster for the September A match on the Japan Football Association’s (JFA) official website on Monday (July 31). Japan will face Germany in an exhibition match at the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg on September 10. Three days later, on the 13th, the team will play against Turkiye at the Henk Chekena Arena in Belgium.

Despite being an exhibition match, Moriyasu has called up a number of key resources from the Japanese national team. Japan’s captain Wataru Endo, “the future of Japan” Takefusa Kubo, and Arsenal’s Takehiro Tomiyasu are among those named. Brighton & Hove Albion’s key wing forward Kaoru Mitoma is also included.

The most notable omission from the list is AS Monaco’s Takumi Minamino. Minamino was a pivotal midfielder for the Japanese national team, earning a call-up to the 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup and the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar. Unlike the previous tournaments, Moriyasu did not call Minamino up for a friendly.

Minamino joined Liverpool in January 2020 on the back of his performances at Red Bull Salzburg, but his career went downhill from there. He struggled to adapt to the EPL. A loan spell at Southampton didn’t help matters. Last summer, Minamino left Liverpool for AS Monaco. Last season, he seemed to be a forgotten man, being named to ESPN’s Ligue 1 Worst 11. 카지노

This season, Minamino has turned things around. He has three goals and two assists in three Ligue 1 games in the 2023/24 season. Minamino is tied with Jude Bellingham for the most assists (5) among players currently playing in Europe’s top five leagues. The Japanese national team is so deep that Minamino, who has transformed into a Ligue 1-caliber midfielder, was left out.

Reactions from the Japanese public were mixed. Some responded positively, saying, “Minamino’s first priority should be to solidify his position at Monaco.” Others raised question marks, saying, “Why was Aoi Tanaka selected while Minamino was left out, even though they play different positions?”