YOKOHAMA — Japan got its bid for a fourth-straight World Cup appearance back on track with a commanding 3-0 win over Oman on Monday night.
Takeshi Okada's men took the lead through an 11th-minute Yuji Nakazawa header and never looked back as Shunsuke Nakamura stamped his dominance on an Oman side that looked out of its depth from the first whistle.
Yoshito Okubo and Nakamura added goals on either side of halftime, helping Okada's men erase the memory of March's 1-0 defeat to Bahrain and putting them back in the driver's seat in World Cup Asian Qualifying Group 2.