Former Japan forward Shinji Okazaki helped Spanish second-division club Huesca book its ticket back to the top flight Friday, scoring his 12th goal of the season in a 3-0 win over Numancia.
With the victory, second-place Huesca moved to 67 points on the year and secured an automatic promotion to La Liga with one match remaining in the current campaign.
Cadiz, which leads the 22-team division with 69 points, had already secured the other automatic promotion slot.
Okazaki netted in the 78th minute after forward Rafa Mir completed a second-half brace to put Huesca ahead at Estadio El Alcoraz.
Huesca competed in La Liga for the first time last season but was immediately relegated. The 34-year-old Okazaki said he wants to contribute to the club staying in the Spanish League’s top division.
“Next season will bring a bigger challenge. There are many big teams,” Okazaki said. “I want to do my best to score a lot of goals so the team can stay (in La Liga).”
A member of the Leicester City side that won the 2015-2016 English Premier League title, Okazaki signed with Huesca in September.
He was a member of Japan’s last three World Cup squads and has scored 50 goals in 119 international games.