Australia downed Qatar 3-0 in Melbourne, Japan overcame Thailand 4-1 among the snow of Saitama and South Korea broke down a stubborn Turkmenistan to win 4-0 in Seoul.

The three nations, plus Saudi Arabia and Iran had byes through the first two stages of Asian qualifying, with round three beginning Wednesday. The five power teams are joined by 15 nations that had fought their way through the earlier rounds.

Australia took the lead in the 10th minute, when towering striker Josh Kennedy headed home from close range after a long cross from Brett Emerton on the right flank.

Tim Cahill made it 2-0 seven minutes later when he leapt above the Qatar defenders in the goalmouth to head in a corner kick.

Mark Bresciano drove a powerful shot under a diving Mohamed Saqar in the 33rd minute to complete the scoring.

Australia missed a series of chances in the second half, while Qatar's best chance came in the 58th minute when halftime substitute Alhamad Mesaad Alim beat goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer but shot wide of the post.

It was the first match for new Australia coach Pim Verbeek, who was taking no chances against a Qatar team that is expected to be the easiest opponent in Group A, fielding a lineup made up almost entirely of Europe-based players.

The only locally-based starter, former Glasgow Rangers and Newcastle United defender Craig Moore, announced his retirement from international soccer after the match.

In contrast to Australia, Japan started slowly before powering to a comfortable win in the second half over a Thai team that struggled in freezing conditions.

Yasuhito Endo put Japan ahead with a curling freekick in the 21st minute, but Thailand struck back almost immediately with a long-range strike by Teerathep Winothai.

Japan reclaimed the lead in the 54th minute when Yoshito Okubo was first to a rebound in the area and shot home.

Thailand had a man sent off before the home side extended its lead in the 66th minute when Yuji Nakazawa glanced home a well-placed header. Seiichiro Maki completed the scoring just before the finish when he capitalized on poor marking and lax goalkeeping to head home.

South Korea also had to be patient before a comfortable win, with England-based stars Park Ji-sung and Seol Ki-hyeon on the score sheet.

The Koreans had to wait until just before halftime for the opening goal, with Seol floating a cross to the far post, where Kwak Tae-hwi headed home. The goal ended the national team's scoring drought of almost eight hours and broke stubborn Turkmen resistance.

Seol doubled Korea's in the 57th minute when he fired home from just inside the area after a neat lay-off from Park Chu-young.

With 20 minutes to play, Park Ji-sung scored his first national team goal since the 2006 World Cup, with the Manchester United winger curling home a spectacular long-range shot. Seol added to the visitors misery with a fourth seven minutes from time.

The top two teams in each of the five four-nation groups progress to the fourth round of qualifying.