Real Sociedad attacker Takefusa Kubo will not play for Japan's under-23 football squad at this summer's Paris Olympics following talks between the Spanish club and the country's governing body.
"We've come to the conclusion that we can't call him up after talks with his club," the Japan Football Association's national team director, Masakuni Yamamoto, said Friday.
The Olympics are outside of FIFA's scheduled international match windows, allowing clubs to refuse requests to release players.
Yuito Suzuki, an attacker for Danish side Brondby, will also not be released by his club for the Olympics.
However, Kubo and Suzuki, both 22 years old, were named to the full national team the same day for next month's Asian qualifiers against Myanmar and Syria for the 2026 World Cup.
