SINGAPORE — South Korea smashed eight past lowly Laos and Asian champion Australia battered Bangladesh 5-0 as the continent's elite made light work of the region's plucky outsiders in World Cup qualifying Thursday. Japan again looked disjointed in attack but still had far too much quality for an outclassed Cambodia in a 3-0 victory in Saitama, while former Asian champion Iraq kicked off its Group F campaign by downing Taiwan 5-1 in Tehran. Only Hong Kong bucked the trend, holding big brothers China to a surprise goalless draw in a politically charged encounter in Shenzhen, played out in front of a heavy police presence, to stay top and unbeaten after three games in Group C. Hong Kong is part of a group of weaker nations that have taken advantage of the revamp of Asian qualifying that has thrown them in with the continent's classiest following a plea for more matches. New Tottenham Hotspur signing Son Heung-min struck a hat trick as perennial qualifiers South Korea claimed the biggest win of the night, 8-0 over Laos. "After just 15 minutes, the match was pretty much in our hands," Korean coach Uli Stielike was quoted as saying by Yonhap News. "But our players competed hard until the end, and I think we're becoming a better team with each passing day." Australia, which beat the Koreans to win the Asian Cup in January, also had a straightforward night as they eased to a 5-0 win over Bangladesh in Perth despite missing a number of first team players from the starting lineup. The Socceroos were 4-0 up in 29 minutes against a side who barely had a touch of the ball, while home goalkeeper Adam Federici was virtually redundant. Japan enjoyed similar dominance but profligacy in front of goal meant it could only record a 3-0 win over Cambodia for its first victory in Group E. Shinja Kagawa recovered after a terrible miss from three meters out with the goal gaping to round off the scoring in the 60th minute of a game played almost entirely in the Laos half. Udinese fullback Ali Adnan added to his burgeoning reputation with a brilliant cut back and blasted finish as Iraq, buoyed by goalkeeper Noor Sabri coming out of retirement, proved too strong for Taiwan. Other results: Uzbekistan 1, Yemen 0; Iran 6, Guam 0; Oman 3, Turkmenistan 1; UAE 10, Malaysia 0; North Korea 1, Bahrain 0; Qatar 15, Bhutan0; Syria 1, Singapore 0; Jordan 0, Kyegyzstan 0. — Agencies
