Shinji Kagawa arrived in Russia with everything to prove and, at 29 years old, still in search of his first World Cup goal. Within six minutes he opened his account against Colombia and set the ball rolling on a Japan victory that sets up an endless range of possibilities for Group H.
Carlos Sanchez’s incomprehensible decision to block a goal-bound shot with his arm gave Kagawa his big chance from the penalty spot, moments after the Borussia Dortmund midfielder had done excellently to create panic in the Colombia defence by dispossessing centre-back Oscar Murillo. In the delay of more than two minutes between the awarding of the decision and his kick, Kagawa had every opportunity to doubt or second-guess himself. Instead he re-spotted the ball, waited for the referee’s whistle, puffed out his checks and nervelessly rolled it into the net.
Japan squandered the opportunity to extend their lead while 10-man Colombia floundered, and Kagawa was responsible for much of their best play. In the 15th minute a trademark jink and drive into space allowed him to pick out an unmarked Takashi Inui, who should have done much better than to curl beyond David Ospina’s far post.
Juan Quintero’s crafty free-kick changed the momentum, and Japan’s failure to consistently find their best player contributed to their overall passivity. Kagawa was forced to run in search of the ball rather than scheme with it at his feet, and it was no surprise when fatigue meant he had to be substituted for Keisuke Honda in the 70th minute.
Japan found their winner in surprising circumstances when Yuya Osako headed in Honda’s corner, but Kagawa did enough in his time on the pitch to indicate that he will continue to be central to coach Akira Nishino’s hopes of finding an unlikely path to the knockout stage.