Japan cruised past Syria with their second successive 5-0 win on Tuesday as Hajime Moriyasu's men remained top of Group B in the Asian second-round qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
Takefusa Kubo's 32nd-minute stunner opened the scoring, Ayase Ueda had a brace while Yukinari Sugawara and Mao Hosoya also joined the scoresheet at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, hosting civil war-hit Syria's home game.
Japan also beat Myanmar 5-0 at home in their opener Thursday. They will play their next two Group B matches in March against North Korea, who won 6-1 away to Myanmar on Tuesday and sit second, above Syria on goal difference.
