Brett Emerton netted a brace as Australia eased to a 4-0 World Cup qualifier victory over Qatar.
Cahill and Emerton on target; Japan held in Saitama
Australia made it two wins from their opening two World Cup qualifiers as they eased to a 4-0 victory over Qatar on Wednesday.
Everton's Tim Cahill opened the scoring before Blackburn Rovers midfielder Brett Emerton hit a brace and Joshua Kennedy sealed the win in Brisbane.
Cahill broke the deadlock on nine minutes with a powerful drive before the attacking midfielder was felled in the box to allow Emerton to double the advantage from the penalty spot.
Emerton netted his second 14 minutes after the interval and then Kennedy wrapped up the three points with a header in the latter stages.
Japan
Australia, who defeated Uzbekistan last month, sit top of Asian Zone qualifying Group 1, with Qatar third in the five-team standings.
Elsewhere in Group 1, Japan were held to a 1-1 draw against Uzbekistan in Saitama, heaping more pressure on head coach Takeshi Okada.
The visitors took the lead through Maksim Shatskikh on 27 minutes, but Keiji Tamada grabbed an equaliser for the Japanese to ensure the spoils were shared.
The top two in the two five-team Asian Zone groups qualify automatically for the 2010 finals in South Africa.
