Captain Keisuke Honda is named a day after scoring on his debut for Mexican club Pachuca, whom he joined last month from AC Milan.

Midfielders Yasuyuki Konno and Wataru Endo, who both played in Japan's last qualifier against Iraq, have been left out.

Striker Shinji Okazaki didn't play against Iraq but has been included, fresh from scoring for Leicester City against Australian goalkeeper Mat Ryan in the Premier League clash with Brighton & Hove Albion.

Japan is currently top of the group with two games to play, creating pressure on Bosnian boss Halilhodzic, who took Algeria to the 2014 World Cup last 16.

The Blue Samurai sits on top with 17 points, ahead of Saudi Arabia and Australia who are both 16 points.

Full squad

Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima (FC Metz), Masaaki Higashiguchi (Gamba Osaka), Kosuke Nakamura (Kashiwa Reysol)

Defenders: Hiroki Sakai (Olympique Marseille), Gotoku Sakai (Hamburg SV), Yuto Nagatomo (Inter Milan), Tomoaki Makino (Urawa Reds), Maya Yoshida (Southampton), Naomichi Ueda (Kashima Antlers), Gen Shoji (Kashima Antlers), Genta Miura (Gamba Osaka)

Midfielders: Makoto Hasebe (Eintracht Frankfurt), Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund), Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka), Yosuke Ideguchi (Gamba Osaka), Yojiro Takahagi (FC Tokyo), Gaku Shibasaki (Getafe), Yuki Kobayashi (Heerenveen)

Forwards: Keisuke Honda (Pachuca), Yuya Kubo (Gent), Takuma Asano (VfB Stuttgart), Genki Haraguchi (Hertha Berlin), Takashi Inui (Eibar), Yoshinori Muto (FSV Mainz), Yuya Osako (FC Koln), Shinji Okazaki (Leicester City), Kenyu Sugimoto (Cerezo Osaka)