Halilhodzic had been under pressure before the Japanese handed Saudi Arabia a 2-1 defeat at Saitama Stadium in November, but with back-to-back victories now under their belt and 13 points on the board, the Samurai Blue can breathe just a little easier with four games remaining in qualifying for Russia 2018.
\nThe Bosnian coach decided once again to leave Honda out of the starting line-up, putting more of the creative pressure on the shoulders of Kagawa (pictured left), and the Borussia Dortmund midfielder delivered.
\nKagawa\u2019s Passing Masterclass
", "headline": "Kagawa the creative cog for Japan in UAE win", "description": "Al Ain: For the second game in a row Vahid Halilhodzic started Keisuke Honda on the bench and Japan, with Shinji Kagawa to the fore, avenged their earlier loss against the United Arab Emirates with a 2-0 win that keeps their mission of appearing at a sixth straight FIFA World Cup finals on track.\r\n", "author": { "@type": "Organization", "url": "https://www.the-afc.com/", "name": "the AFC" }, "image": "https://assets.the-afc.com/migration/m/7/m7ay9jw0smslm9fet9lm.jpg", "isAccessibleForFree": true, "datePublished": "2017-03-26", "url": "www.the-afc.com/en/national/fifa_world_cup/news/kagawa_the_creative_cog_for_japan_in_uae_win.html" }