Maya Yoshida has been confirmed in Japan’s squad for the World Cup.
The Saints centre half was fully expected to make the cut but may still have had a small amount of uncertainty given that manager Akira Nishino has only had one friendly in the job.
That saw Yoshida play, winning his 81st cap in the process.as Japan lost 2-0 to Ghana.
They now have friendlies against Switzerland and Paraguay before starting their Group H campaign against Colombia on Tuesday, June 19.
Yoshida’s participation is a boost for Saints watchers who won’t have many St Mary’s favourites to cheer on in Russia.
Cedric Soares is the only other Saints star so far confirmed as taking part having made the cut for Portugal.
Dusan Tadic is expected to be a major part of Serbia’s campaign, but they still have to trim their 27-man party down to the final 23.
The player most likely to miss out is Jan Bednarek.
The central defender, who did so well after coming into the Saints side at the back end of last season, is in contention for Poland.
However, they have named an initial 35-man squad that needs to be cut to 23 and Bednarek is rated as borderline to get the nod.
There is no Saints representation in the England squad with Fraser Forster having fallen out of the reckoning and Ryan Bertrand being overlooked despite having played a decent role in World Cup qualification.
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