On Tuesday, Japan beat Mongolia 14-0 in the second round of Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the AFC Asian Cup China 2023, bringing Hajime Moriyasu's side closer to a spot in the next round.

This victory leaves Japan’s record in Group F intact. If they beat Myanmar on June 3, Japan will qualify for the third phase of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying.

Mongolia had relinquished home-field advantage due to the ongoing pandemic, so the game was played at the Fukuda Denshi Arena in Chiba, near Tokyo.

Japan, who are aiming to qualify for their seventh World Cup in a row in Qatar in 2022, scored five goals in the first half to absolutely overpower the Mongolians.

The Blue Samurai also refused to give up after the break, scored nine more goals to set a new qualifying record, and ended with one goal shy of their all-time best victory.

Moriyasu's team has won all five of their qualifying matches, scoring 26 goals. We planned well and never stopped pushing ourselves,” he said.

Takumi Minamoto found time and space on the edge of the Mongolian penalty box to slip a perfect finish into the far corner of Enkhtaivan Munkh-goal Erdene's after just 13 minutes of play. Minamino stepped over Maya Yoshida's ball forward ten minutes later, allowing Yuya Osaka to transform the defence with his first touch before slotting home for the four-time Asian champions.

Daichi Kamada scored the third goal in the 26th minute, directing Junya Ito's right-wing cross past Munkh-Erdene from just inside the six-yard box. Hidemasa Morita scored after Ito's cutback six minutes later, giving the Japanese a 4-0 lead.

Although they had won the game, the Japanese kept pushing and added a fifth goal with five minutes left in the half when Khash Erdene Tuyaa headed Ken Matsubara's cross from the right into his own goal. In the second half, Japan's goals started to flow, with Osako adding his second soon after substitute Takuma Asano's header had hit the crossbar. Following Kamada's pass, the Germany-based forward had enough time to turn and slot into the corner.

In the 68th minute, Sho Inagaki made it 7-0 with a clinical finish from inside the penalty area. Five minutes later, Ito scored the goal his all-around success deserved when he tucked the ball in from close range.

Kyogo Furuhashi of Vissel Kobe scored the ninth goal with a header off the underside of the bar before Ito scored Japan's tenth. Furuhashi was on goal once more four minutes from the end. As the game reached injury time, Asano scored his first, and Osako completed his hat-trick with a deflected effort from close range before Inagaki scored his second before the game ended.

Japan now has 15 points, and are five points ahead of Tajikistan in Group F. The Krygyz Republic is in the third position, three points behind Myanmar in fourth. Mongolia is ranked fifth and last in the standings.

On Tuesday, Iran's national football team beat Syria 3-0. Iran and Syria are planning for the FIFA World Cup in 2022. With a header just two minutes into the game, Hossein Kanaanizadegan gave the Iranians the lead. In the 38th minute, Sardar Azamoun made it 2-0.

Substitute Karim Ansarifard scored the third goal for Dragan Skocic's team in the last nine minutes.

In the 2022 World Cup qualification, Iran will face Hong Kong and Cambodia on June 3 and 7. The games against Bahrain and Iraq will take place on June 11 and 15, respectively.

The remaining matches will be held at the consolidated venue in Bahrain due to the pandemic. After Iraq and Bahrain, the ‘Persian Leopards' are in the third position in Group C.