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TOKYO, March 14 (Reuters) - Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura was a surprise omission from the Japan squad for their World Cup qualifier against Bahrain later this month.
Nakamura was left out of the 21-man party named by Japan coach Takeshi Okada on Friday for the away tie in Manama on March 26.
His place went to Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Junichi Inamoto, the only foreign-based player selected by Okada, who also recalled striker Keiji Tamada.
The Nagoya Grampus Eight forward has not played since the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
"This group of players is the one I believe will cope best with our opponents, the climate and the pitch conditions," Okada told reporters.
Japan began their 2010 qualifying campaign with a 4-1 home win over Thailand.
Squad:
Goalkeepers - Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Iwata), Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya), Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki)
Defenders - Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama), Yuichi Komano (Iwata), Hiroki Mizumoto (Gamba Osaka), Michihiro Yasuda (Gamba Osaka), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers)
Midfielders - Junichi Inamoto (Eintracht Frankfurt), Naotake Hanyu (FC Tokyo), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki), Keita Suzuki (Urawa), Yuki Abe (Urawa), Koji Yamase (Yokohama), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Satoru Yamagishi (Kawasaki)
Forwards - Naohiro Takahara (Urawa), Keiji Tamada (Nagoya), Seiichiro Maki (Chiba), Yuzo Tashiro (Kashima)
