Japan forward Ayase Ueda hit a 69th-minute winner as Cercle Brugge won 1-0 away to Sint-Truiden in the Belgian top flight on Saturday.
The 24-year-old, picked among Japan's 26-man squad for the World Cup, departs for Qatar in strong form after scoring his sixth goal in seven matches across all competitions.
Ueda reacted quickest to a ball flicked over the Sint-Truiden backline and emphatically side-footed past World Cup-bound Japanese goalkeeper Daniel Schmidt into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
"I was readying myself to capitalize on that one chance," said Ueda, who is in line to make his World Cup debut. "Today's game was important for me mentally. I'll be switching my focus to the World Cup from now on."
Japan captain Maya Yoshida played the full 90 minutes as Schalke lost 2-0 at home to Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga. Fellow Samurai Blue defender Hiroki Ito also played the full match in Stuttgart's 2-0 loss away to Bayer Leverkusen.
Reo Hatate, who was left out of the World Cup squad, set up both goals as Celtic came from behind to beat Ross County 2-1 at home in the Scottish Premiership.
David Cancola scored a 50th-minute penalty for the visitors before Hatate's passes inside the box set up David Turnbull's 62nd-minute leveler and Sead Haksabanovic's winner six minutes later at Parkhead.
Related coverage:
Football: Ko Itakura returns to match action ahead of World Cup
Football: Japan-based World Cup squad members land in Qatar
Football: Profiles of Japan's squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
