Shusei Yamauichi helped himself to a hat-trick, while Ozu Moreira and Takaaki Oba scored two goals each as the East Asians registered the biggest win of the tournament thus far to take top spot in Group C.

Japan are the only Asian nation to have appeared in every FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, and they will seal a return to the global showpiece if they finish as one of the top three sides at Thailand 2019.

The 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup semi-finalists took the first step to returning to the global Finals, prevailing in a spirited encounter against their neighbours to take three points.

Marco Octavio's men can now enjoy the luxury of a four-day break, while Iraq have little choice but to take points from their second and final group stage match against Oman on Sunday.

While they got the three points they came for, Bahrain had to earn their victory against an unfancied Qatar side, who refused to wilt after conceding twice in the first seven minutes.

Salman Al Yaqoobi and Abdulla Al Abdulla both scored twice for Bahrain, who are looking to qualify for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup for the first time since 2009.

A forgettable seven-minute spell in the second period cost Thailand four goals in Thursday's opener, with Palestine taking full advantage to secure all three points with a 5-2 win.

The Thais have the experience of beating Malaysia 5-3 in the AFF Beach Soccer Championship last November, and Khodabandehloo is confident they will bounce back against a more familiar opponent in Saturday's must win match.

The Emiratis were in fine form in their first outing on Thursday, registering the opening day's biggest with with a 6-1 success over debutants Kyrgyz Republic.

The 2017 runners-up were highly impressive, creating near-constant goal scoring opportunities throughout the full 36 minutes, but Almaazmi isn't making any title predictions just yet, preferring to focus on his side's next challenge.

The 2017 runners-up made their intentions clear by scoring in the opening minute, and rarely ceded control despite a resilient Kyrgyz performance and a standout goalkeeping display from Maksim Maksimishkin, whose efforts prevented a larger margin of victory.

Four second-period goals paved the road to victory for Imadeldeen Hashim's side, who recovered from a slow start to take all three points on the opening night, with Mohammed Hassan scoring twice.

The match began immediately following a pyrotechnic Thailand 2019 opening ceremony, and the home side's Komkirt Nanan hinted at fireworks on the pitch when he sent a spectacular overhead kick inches above the crossbar two minutes in, but the teams largely cancelled each other out in the early stages.