Colombia vs Japan, World Cup 2018: Shinji Kagawa reminds the world he is better than his Manchester United days – scouting report

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.

It’s easy to forget that, back in 2012, Kagawa was rightly regarded as one of Europe’s most exciting footballers. He had moulded himself into the perfect modern No10 at Dortmund: Fast, skilful and decisive with the ball at his feet, a prolific scorer and creator in the final third and a tireless runner to lead a high press, regularly covering 12 kilometres per game.

Manchester United were excited by his talent – not to mention the marketing possibilities of having a Japanese superstar in their team – but never had a plan to maximise him. All too often in the 2012/13 season Kagawa found himself shunted onto the right flank to accommodate a fading Wayne Rooney, and he was ultimately a peripheral figure in their Premier League title win.

Things got considerably worse under David Moyes, both for United and for Kagawa, who returned to Dortmund in the summer of 2014 hoping to rebuild his confidence.

But the rollercoaster since has held more downs than ups. Jurgen Klopp went stale and left, injuries disrupted his momentum under Thomas Tuchel and Peter Bosz preferred other midfield options. Interim successor Peter Stoger restored Kagawa to the starting XI and he responded with three goals in eight Bundesliga appearances before ankle problems ended his club campaign in February.

Even for Japan, there has been the nagging sense that Kagawa has fallen short of his potential. His record of 30 goals in 92 international caps is nothing to be sniffed at, but he and Honda have not shone in tandem as often as hoped. Both were dropped by Vahid Halilhodzic for friendlies against Brazil and Belgium in November – a decision that eventually cost the Bosnian his job.

After much experimentation, replacement Nishino took a bold decision by making Kagawa, rather than Honda, the creative hub of the least heralded team that Japan have ever sent to a World Cup. If he can build on this performance and lead his country out of a wide-open Group H, the Dortmund playmaker will completely re-write his international legacy.

Whether or not he succeeds, however, Kagawa’s performance in Saransk suggested he is ready to show the quality that Dortmund fans might have forgotten and United rarely saw at all.