Borussia Dortmund midfielder Shinji Kagawa is hoping to transfer his club form onto the international stage as Japan gets ready for the start of its World Cup qualifying campaign for Russia 2018.
Kagawa endured a patchy start to his second stint with Dortmund after rejoining the Bundesliga side from Manchester United and he did not see a great deal of playing time toward the end of 2014.
That lack of playing time showed as he was off the pace at the Asian Cup in January in Australia, where he missed a spot kick in a penalty shootout as Japan was eliminated by the United Arab Emirates in the quarterfinals.