Coach confident Kagawa will end drought in the quarter-finals

DOHA: Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni believes Borussia Dort-mund sensation Shinji Kagawa will prove his goalscoring clout when push comes to shove at the Asian Cup.

“He has been sacrificing himself to play well for the team. The only thing he lacks is a goal,” the former AC Milan boss said as the Blue Samurai geared up for a quarter-final clash with hosts Qatar tomorrow.

“He is improving,” the Italian tactician added. “I believe he will score at a more crucial point in the tournament.”

The 21-year-old Kagawa has scored eight Bundesliga goals in 17 games after moving to Dortmund from J-League Cerezo Osaka last summer after failing to make Takeshi Okada’s World Cup squad.

He was named the Bundesliga’s most valuable player in the first half of the season but his gun has remained silent on the continental showcase as Japan chalked up two straight wins after a cliff-hanging 1-1 draw with Jordan.

“What I really want the most is to score a goal,” said Kagawa, who fed a pinpoint left cross for Shinji Okazaki to score the second of his three goals in Japan’s 5-0 rout of fellow three-time champions Saudi Arabia on Monday.

“I could not create decisive chances in front of goal. It was because I was short on techniques or I was pressed too hard,” the No. 10 told Japanese media.

The Blue Samurai, beefed up by eight Europe-based players including CSKA Moscow midfielder Keisuke Honda, are preparing to fight Qatar and their home supporters.

And Kagawa’s German experience may prove helpful on the occasion.

The ever-smiling Japanese youth bagged a brace in a 3-1 away win over arch-rivals Schalke 04 in September, shutting up many of the 60,000 spectators and confirming himself as a favourite among the Dortmund supporters.

“Yes, I am,” he replied when asked he was ready to “explode” in the Qatar match. “But we may have some issue with refereeing,” Kagawa said.

The Japan team are worried that Middle East referees may judge in favour of their neighbours at crucial moments.

They angrily protested against the marching orders given to World Cup goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima by an Iranian referee in Japan’s 2-1 win over Syria in their second group match.

The gutsy Lierse SK custodian brought down a Syrian player being flagged offside.

But the referee overturned the offside call and instead red-carded Kawashima.