Japan named Getafe's Takefusa Kubo and Kawasaki Frontale's Kaoru Mitoma in their men's under-24 squad on Friday for two home friendlies against Argentina U-24 later this month as teams ramp up their Tokyo Olympics preparations.
Kubo was one of seven European-based players called up along with Arminia Bielefeld's Ritsu Doan, Rio Ave's Ryotaro Meshino and Antwerp's Koji Miyoshi among the attackers.
A trio of Netherlands-based defensive players, Groningen's Ko Itakura, AZ Alkmaar's Yukinari Sugawara and PEC Zwolle's Yuta Nakayama, were named in the 23-man squad.
"These are critical games for our build-up to the Olympics," said Akinobu Yokouchi, who will be running the team while manager Hajime Moriyasu focuses on the senior men's team. "I'm grateful we are able to host them amid the coronavirus situation."
The matches will be the first for Japan's Olympic hopefuls since January 2020's AFC U-23 Championship.
The first game will be at Tokyo Stadium on March 26. The sides face off again three days later at Kitakyushu Stadium, Fukuoka Prefecture.
Argentina, the 2004 and 2008 Olympic champions, have sealed their spot as one of two South American representatives for the 16-team tournament this summer alongside 2016 champions Brazil.
The Olympic men's tournament is normally an under-23 competition with limited spots for overage players, but the age bracket has been raised one year for the Tokyo Games in line with the one-year postponement prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.
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