Zico hopes Nakata will join training camp prior to Iran clash

Kyodo - Japan coach Zico said Saturday he intends to call up Italian-based midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata for the national squad's training camp in Germany prior to a World Cup qualifier away to Iran on March 25.
Zico told reporters upon his return from Brazil that he will consider calling up Nakata for the camp beginning next Thursday if the Fiorentina player is match fit and his club gives the nod.

The Japan Football Association has asked Fiorentina to release Nakata for the match in Tehran and a clash at home to Bahrain on March 30.

Under the regulations set by soccer's world governing body FIFA, foreign teams are allowed to keep Japanese players for club duty through March 20, three days after Zico's men started their training in Germany.

Nakata has not played for his country since a 2-1 win in Singapore on March 31 last year in the first round of World Cup qualifiers. He was left out of the squad for the Feb. 9 match at home to North Korea, which Japan won 2-1 in their final-round opener.

Iran are considered Japan's biggest rivals in final-round, four-nation Group B, from which the top two teams qualify directly for next year's World Cup finals in Germany.