Tim Cahill and Brett Emerton wielded the sticks as the Socceroos handed out another beating to Qatar to power to the top of their World Cup qualifying group with a 4-0 win.
Cahill, making his return to the national team after a series of injuries, tormented Qatar mercilessly in a brilliant display while Emerton scored twice.
Cahill scored the opener on nine minutes with a sweet left-foot finish from a sweeping Socceroos move.
The Everton midfielder then won a penalty eight minutes later after Qatar defender Abdulla Koni was adjudged to have pushed him, allowing Emerton to bang home from the penalty spot.
The Socceroos effectively put the match beyond doubt just inside the hour, when Emerton netted his second after great lead-up work from Scott McDonald and Josh Kennedy, whose aerial prowess troubled the Qataris all night.
Kennedy then completed a miserable night for Qatar as he grabbed Australia’s fourth with 14 minutes remaining, leaping to meet a Luke Wilkshire cross and head home.
It was Australia’s third win over Qatar in World Cup qualifying – the Socceroos posting 3-0 and 3-1 wins in the previous qualification stage and proving far too polished and poised once more tonight.
The Socceroos now have a perfect two-from-two record in this stage to lead Group A – tonight’s win following an impressive away victory in Uzbekistan last month.
The top two teams in Group A earn direct qualification to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
The kick-off for tonight’s match was delayed by half an hour because of wild thunderstorms and torrential rain which flooded parts of the pitch.
But the field dried up remarkably well considering the amount of rain that fell.
Craig Moore made his comeback from a short-lived retirement alongside Lucas Neill in central defence, and the pair combined brilliantly to lock up Qatar’s main attacking threat Sebastian Soria Quintana.
Further sweetening the Socceroos’ night was Japan’s 1-1 draw with Uzbekistan in the other Group A match, giving the Socceroos a two-point advantage at the top of the group.
But a cautious Verbeek said that wasn’t enough reason to celebrate prematurely, saying the job of winning qualification was a long way from complete.
“I’m not running around with a bottle of champagne in my hand because we have six points. I will do that when we’ve qualified for the World Cup,” Verbeek said.
“The boys did a fantastic job, especially after a difficult start because the rain came down when we were warming up.
“I think the pitch helped us. We can play very good football on a field like that.”
Qatar coach Bruno Metsu praised the Socceroos’ performance, rating them the far better side.
“We played against a very good team. Australia is a great team with fantastic players,” Metsu said.
“When you play a strong team, it is difficult because when you make one mistake they score.”
Australia owed much to getting the early goal through Cahill, who now has the remarkable record of 14 goals in 29 internationals from midfield.
“You have to finish goals like that if you want to win games like this,” Cahill said.
The Socceroos now face away World Cup qualifiers against Bahrain next month and Japan in February, which are likely to go a long way to deciding Australia’s World Cup fate.
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