SHENZHEN, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Asian football powerhouse Japan eased past Thailand 3-0, while South Korea beat Syria 2-1 in Group D of the AFC U20 Asian Cup here on Friday.

Hisatsugu Ishii broke the deadlock for Japan in the 14th minute before Rion Ichihara doubled the lead in the 33rd minute from a penalty.

In the 69th minute, Ryunosuke Sato scored in the goal area to seal the 3-0 victory.

South Korea took an early 2-0 lead thanks to two goals from Sung Shin and Baek Min-gyu in the eighth and 23rd minute, respectively.

Syria pulled one goal back in the 60th minute as Aland Abdi netted from distance, but they couldn't find the equalizer in the last 30 minutes.

Host China, who beat Qatar 2-1 in the Asian Cup opener, will play its second group match on Saturday against Kyrgyzstan, while Australia will face Qatar in the other group A match. Enditem

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