Shinji Okazaki scored a hat trick in front of his home fans as Japan thrashed Hong Kong 6-0 in a final-round qualifier for the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar on Thursday night.
Shimizu S-Pulse striker Okazaki set Japan on its way after 18 minutes and completed the rout after Yuto Nagatomo, Yuji Nakazawa and Marcus Tulio Tanaka had also put their names on the scoresheet in the Group A match in Shizuoka.
Japan moved to the top of the group with six points from three games. Takeshi Okada's men lead Bahrain, which did not play on the night, on goal difference. Yemen has three points while Hong Kong is without a point at the bottom of the table.