Manchester United playmaker Kagawa hauled off at half-time in Japan win

Sep 7, 2012 12:45:00 PM

The 23-year-old was benched halfway through the 1-0 victory over the United Arab Emirates with the game staying level until well after the break when Mike Havenaar scored

Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa was substituted at half-time during Japan's 1-0 win over the United Arab Emirates.


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In a warm-up game before their World Cup 2014 qualifying campaign resumes against Iraq, the home side had to wait until the 69th minute to take the lead against their less illustrious opponents, with Mike Havenaar bagging the crucial goal.

However, Japan's head coach, Italian Alberto Zaccheroni, was less than impressed with what he saw of the side's star player Kagawa, taking him off at the break after growing frustrated with his stepovers. The 59-year-old boss was keen to emphasise that the team must come first after the match.

"The result was important but equally important was to measure where we are before the Iraq game," he told reporters.

"There was positives and negatives to take from tonight but we can go away and analyse the performance now. It was important to check the condition of the team and individual players."

Kagawa made his debut for the national side in 2008 against Ivory Coast and the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder has since gone on to make 35 appearances for his country, scoring 11 goals in the process.

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