CHIBA: When Japan’s Women’s World Cup coach Futoshi Ikeda announced his 23 players on Tuesday, Tottenham striker Mana Iwabuchi was a shocking exclusion.
Iwabuchi was a member of the team that won the World Cup in 2011, but she was not selected when Ikeda’s team prepared to travel to New Zealand and Australia for Group C matches against Spain, Zambia, and Costa Rica.
The lone surviving member of the 2011 team is captain Saki Kumagai, who 12 years ago helped Japan defeat the United States in the championship game by scoring the winning penalty in the shootout.
Fuka Nagano of Liverpool, Yui Hasegawa of Manchester City, and Honoka Hayashi of West HamRisa Shimizu were all chosen by Ikeda. Jun Endo, a forward for Angel City who injured his knee last month, was also included.
Japan’s squad includes:
Goalkeepers: Momoko Tanaka, Ayaka Yamashita, and Chika Hirao.
Defenders: Moeka Minami, Saki Kumagai, Risa Shimizu, Kiko Seike, Rion Ishikawa, Shiori Miyake, and Miyabi Moriya.
Midfielders: Aoba Fujino, Hana Takahashi, Fuka Nagano, Jun Endo, Hinata Miyazawa, Hikaru Naomoto, Honoka Hayashi, Yui Hasegawa, and Hina Sugita.
Forwards: Remina Chiba, Riko Ueki, Mina Tanaka, Maika Hamano.