Kagawa and Japan take a bath while Raktici and Mbia trade ... shorts

Japan's Shinji Kagawa shown during training on June 18, 2014. Shuji Kajiyama/ AP

Japan

Japan’s Shinji Kagawa was so dejected after the Asian champions lost their World Cup opener that his teammates invited him to jump in the tub to wash away the blues. Striker Yoshito Okubo offered some consoling words for the Manchester United player during a group bath, while defender Yuto Nagatomo also hopped in. Kagawa had little impact as Japan were beaten 2-1 by Ivory Coast in their Group C game, and Okubo gave him the truth about his performance. “I spoke with Shinji,” Okubo told the Nikkan Sports daily. “He was really depressed, but he’s looking forward now. If he doesn’t do the business, Japan have no chance.” The soapy heart-to-heart reportedly did the trick to shake Kagawa from his funk. “You were absolutely useless,” Okubo was quoted as saying to the midfielder as they soaked at their training base in Itu, in the north-east of Sao Paulo. “You really were. But don’t get down about it. You can’t turn back the clock, so put a smile on your face. Get it out of your system.”

South Korea

It was not the way South Korea’s Son Heung-min envisioned celebrating scoring his team’s lone goal in their 1-1 World Cup opener against Russia. The Bayer Leverkusen star’s evening took an unexpected turn when he was hauled in for a doping exam after Korea’s game in Cuiaba on Tuesday night. Because the test took longer than anticipated, his colleagues and the team bus left without him for the team hotel. On one of the landmark nights of his career, he had to take a cab to the team hotel. That hardly took the lustre off his team’s experience, however. “It’s like a dream. I tried to sleep before the game, but I couldn’t,” he said. “I was a little bit nervous. And then happy that I performed well in the first game.”

England

Former England striker Ian Wright flew home from Brazil after his wife and children were held at knifepoint in a burglary. Reports said four men armed with knives broke into Wright’s north-west London home and held hostage his wife and children before stealing personal possessions. The broadcaster, 50, who won fame as a striker for Arsenal, is at the World Cup for ITV.

Croatia

Swapping shirts has long been a football ritual, but Croatia’s Ivan Rakitic and Cameroon’s Stephane Mbia went a good bit further after their group-stage game. The former Sevilla teammates first exchanged shirts in the middle of the pitch after Croatia beat Cameroon 4-0. Then, after they reached the tunnel, while still in full view of shocked officials, they peeled off their shorts and exchanged them. Oblivious or uncaring about outside eyes, Rakitic and Mbia were left in just underwear, socks and boots.

Spain

For Spain, at least the timing of their swoon was good. Spanish newspapers yesterday mostly were focused on the new reign of King Felipe VI. Champions Spain lost 2-0 to Chile on Wednesday, the same day that King Juan Carlos signed his abdication papers, handing the country over to his heir, Felipe. Spain’s main newspapers, which had splashed headlines about the team’s shock 5-1 demolition to Netherlands last week across their front pages, mostly relegated the news to inside pages yesterday. “The Spanish football team that has been the most deserving of a royal farewell ended its fairy tale in an atrocious way, in a world fiasco,” Spain’s top-selling newspaper, El Pais, said.