Shinji Kagawa and Shinji Okazaki both scored twice as Japan powered to a 6-0 win over Afghanistan in AFC World Cup qualifying.
Kagawa scored a goal in each half to send Japan towards victory in a match played in the Iranian city of Tehran.
The Borussia Dortmund man followed up a superb long-range effort in the 10th minute with a cool finish in the 50th as the Samurai Blue raced to a three-goal lead just after half-time, with Masato Morishige also on target.
Leicester City striker Okazaki then scored twice in three minutes before the hour, with Keisuke Honda completing the rout. Japan have won two and drawn the other of their three Group E fixtures.
Syria sit top of the group after also winning 6-0, against Cambodia, with goals from Omar Khribin (2), Sanharib Bueyueksal, Mahmoud Al Mawas, Omar Midani and Osama Omari.
Australia kept up their 100 percent record and stayed top in Group B with a 3-0 win over Tajikistan in Dushanbe. Mark Milligan broke the deadlock in the 57th minute following a corner before Tim Cahill again turned hero.
Cahill made sure of the win in the 73rd minute when he scored following a Ryan McGowan cross. And he was at it again in injury time, this time scoring from a Tommy Oar delivery.
FULL TIME: It's all over in Dushanbe! 3-0 win over Tajikistan! Goals from @mmills05 & @Tim_Cahill (2) #GoSocceroos pic.twitter.com/ivkajVHZ7C
- Socceroos (@Socceroos) September 8, 2015
Jordan are second, two points behind the Socceroos, after a 4-0 win in Bangladesh. A penalty from Abdallah Deeb was added to by Munther Abu Amarah before half-time. Deeb scored his second just before the hour with Yaseen Bakheet completing the comprehensive victory two minutes later.
There were dramatic scenes in Hong Kong as 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar had to hold on in injury time to secure a 3-2 victory in Group C.
Karim Boudiaf, Abdulkarim Hasan Fadlalla and Mohammed Musa seemed to have put Qatar well on the way to the three points but goals from He Bai in the 86th minute and Godfred Karikari in the 89th made sure of a nail-biting finish.
China cruised to a 3-0 win against Maldives with two goals from Dabao Yu and a third from Chelsea-target Linpeng Zhang.
Qatar top the group with three wins on nine points, with China second on seven points -- level with Hong Kong who have played a game more.
Thailand showed their mettle to come back from two goals down to take a share of the spoils at home to former Asian champions Iraq in Group F.
Justin Meram and Younis Mahmoud had put Iraq in control but a Theerathorn Bunmathan penalty ten minutes from time and another goal from Mongkol Tossakrai three minutes later forced a 2-2 draw.
There was late drama in the other group game, as Vietnam led at Chinese Taipei through Tien Thanh Dinh with six minutes left on the clock. Chun-Ching Wu then forced the leveller but Vietnam were not to be denied as Phi Son Tran grabbed the winner in the last minute.
Thailand stay top of the group with seven points from three games, with Iraq three points further back with a game in hand. Vietnam have three points from two games.
South Korea kept up top spot in Group G with a 3-0 win against Lebanon. Hyun-Soo Jang bagged the opener from a penalty, before Ja-Cheol Koo made it 2-0 before half-time. The Koreans were too good for their opponents and Chang-Hoon Kwon netted the third and final goal on the hour mark.
Kuwait went joint top with a 2-0 win over Laos. Yousef Nasser opened the scoring in the first half and Bader Al-Mutwa made the points safe with a penalty in the 84th minute.
In Group A, a vastly improved performance by Malaysia was spoiled by crowd trouble that saw their qualifier against Saudi Arabia brought to a premature end at Shah Alam Stadium, near Kuala Lumpur.
With less than three minutes of regulation time left and Malaysia trailing 2-1, flares were thrown onto the pitch, causing both teams to walk off the field, ending the match early.
In the same group, UAE held on to top spot with a 0-0 draw against Palestine.
Group D saw Guam and Oman play out a 0-0 draw, while Iran beat India 3-0. Serdar Azmoun got a first half opener before former Bolton man Andranik Teymourian doubled the lead just after the break. Morteza Pouraliganji then made it safe in a tight group with three teams fighting for top spot.
Uzbekistan kept up the pressure on North Korea in Group H with a 5-1 hammering of Philippines. Odil Akhmedov netted in the first minute before Sardor Rashidov and Igor Sergeev completed a fine first half.
Rashidov and Sergeev then both bagged braces in the second half -- in between Stephan Schroeck's consolation -- to put Uzbekistan three points off top spot.
And in the battle of the bottom two, Bahrain beat Yemen 4-0. Goals from Hussain Baba and Sami Al Husaini put them 2-0 up by half-time and strikes from Abdullah Omar and Sayed Mohamed Adnan made it comfortable in the second half.