Japan overcame a slow start to sweep aside lowly India 4-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Calcutta on Wednesday night and make it four wins in four games in Asian Zone Group 3.
Takayuki Suzuki gave Japan the lead on the stroke of halftime for his second goal in as many matches and Feyenoord playmaker Shinji Ono, Takashi Fukunishi and Tsuneyasu Miyamoto all scored in the second half to seal a comfortable win for the Asian champion.
"I'm really pleased with the result. It doesn't really matter whether we scored one goal or four goals, the most important thing is that we took three points," said Zico.
The result kept Japan on top of Group 3 with 12 points and put it within a point of securing a place in next year's final round of qualifiers for the 2006 finals in Germany.