Hiroki Sakai, the defender of the Japan national football team, will leave the team in consideration of fatigue ahead of the World Cup Asian final qualifying match against China on the 7th of this month.

Japan lost to Oman in the first match of the Asian final qualifying round of the World Cup Qatar on the 2nd, and will face China in the second match in Qatar on the 7th of this month.



Prior to this match, the Japan Football Association announced that Hiroki Sakai, a regular on the right side back who was active as an overage frame at the Tokyo Olympics, will leave the team.



After finishing the season of the French 1st division league that he belonged to before, Sakai has been playing games at the Tokyo Olympics, J1 and Urawa Reds since June, so considering fatigue. It means that he decided to leave on the way.