Shinji Kagawa omitted from Japan's Asian Cup squad | OneFootball

In a bid to reclaim the Asian Cup, Japan has decided to omit 29-year-old Borussia Dortmund midfielder Shinji Kagawa from their 23-man squad.

The former Manchester United star failed to make the cut as manager Hajime Moriyasu has opted for a younger roster.

Kagawa has made just four appearances for Dortmund in all competitions this year and is on the verge of an exit.

Japan have won four of the last seven quadrennial tournaments, however, Japan were upset by the UAE in penalties in the 2015 Asian Cup quarter-finals.

Leicester City’s 32-year-old striker Shinji Okazaki was also omitted from the squad, despite being Japan’s third-highest goal scorer.

“Of course, I wanted help from experienced players, those who went to the Russian World Cup and those who have led Japan for years,” Japan national team manager Hajime Moriyasu said in Wednesday’s press conference.

“Many of the players whom we selected at this time have only limited experiences. I have chosen them with hopes that they would take the ownership of the team and build the national team themselves and fight for the title.”

The Asian Cup, which has been expanded to include 24 teams, will be held in UAE from 5 January to 1 February.

Japan will open the tournament against Turkmenistan on 9 January before facing Oman and Uzbekistan in Group F play.

Japan’s 2019 AFC Asian Cup squad:

Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt.

Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu.

Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan.

Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa.