Premier League stars Kaoru Mitoma and Wataru Endo both scored as Japan thrashed China 7-0 on Thursday to start the third round of Asian World Cup qualifiers with a statement win.
Brighton winger Mitoma, who has missed a chunk of this year with injury, was making his first appearance for Japan since the Asian Cup in January.
He announced his return in emphatic style in front of more than 50,000 fans in Saitama, scoring with a first-half header after Liverpool’s Endo had given Japan the lead.
Takumi Minamino added two more goals after the break to put Japan on cruise control against a China side looking to qualify for their first World Cup since 2002.
Junya Ito, who was also playing for Japan for the first time since the Asian Cup, scored another before late goals from Daizen Maeda and Takefusa Kubo capped a dominant performance from Hajime Moriyasu’s side.
It was a night to forget for China, who squeezed into the third qualifying round thanks to a superior head-to-head record over Thailand.
Japan gave China an early scare when Ritsu Doan powered a header at goal that goalkeeper Wang Dalei had to turn round the post.
But the warning went unheeded as Endo found himself completely unmarked to head home the opener from the resulting corner.
Japan doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time when Mitoma nodded home Doan’s cross at the back post in injury time.
Minamino got Japan off to a flying start to the second half when he skipped past a defender into the China box and curled a shot past Wang and into the net.
The Monaco forward struck again six minutes later, again cutting through the Chinese defence and lashing the ball past Wang.
Ito marked his return to the team with Japan’s fifth goal after coming on as a substitute.
The Reims winger had not featured since he left the Asian Cup squad after a Japanese magazine published allegations that he sexually assaulted two women in a hotel in Osaka last year.
Japanese prosecutors dropped charges against the player last month and he has denied any wrongdoing.
Maeda scored Japan’s sixth with a back-post header in the 87th minute.
Japan and China have also been drawn with Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Indonesia in a tricky-looking Group C.
The top two are guaranteed a place at the World Cup, with the third and fourth-placed sides going into a further round of qualifying.
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