SINT-TRUIDEN, Belgium (Kyodo) World Cup goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima put in a solid performance in his debut with Lierse SK but was unable to keep a clean sheet as his side lost 1-0 away to Sint-Truiden on the opening day of the season in the Belgian top flight on Saturday.
Kawashima showed a safe pair of hands and made a number of fine saves but was beaten when Vincent Euvrard headed in the game's only goal from a corner in the 27th minute.
Kawashima, one of the stars of Japan's World Cup campaign in South Africa as the country reached the second round of the tournament on foreign turf for the first time, joined the Antwerp Province-based Lierse from Kawasaki Frontale in July.