China national men's Olympic soccer team, which are formed by players under 22 years old and led by Dutch coach Guus Hiddink, trashed Laos 5-0 in the AFC U23 Championships Thailand 2020 Qualifiers at Shah Alam Stadium in Selangor, Malaysia on Friday.

The Qualifiers divided 43 teams into 11 groups as the winners of each group and the best four runner-ups, 15 teams in total, will be qualified for the final stage next January. The top three places of the championships will get the berths for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games except the host Japan.

During the match between China and Laos in the first Matchday, China got off to a slow start under the tropical heat. Half an hour into the match, China was awarded a penalty and Yang Liyu made it 1-0.

China broke Laos' defense from the left side in the 42nd minute, and Chinese center Shan Huanhuan scored quickly after his first shot was blocked. Yang Liyu added the third of the match with a strong header in the plus minutes before the half time.

Yang missed a hat-trick in the second half when his header skimmed over the goal. And the match went at a relatively slow pace with several Laos players including the goalkeeper suffering cramps or minor injuries.

The six-minute stoppage time became a show for the substitutions as Lin Liangming and Cao Yongjing scored another two goals with Zhang Yuning assisting Lin with an accurate cross.

In the post-match conference, Yang said, "The team was still a little bit tight at the beginning. But after the penalty, we were more relaxed and our performance improved."

China's Coach Guus Hiddink expressed his happiness for the victory, and he told the reporters that according to his experience in the important tournament, the team must win the first group stage match to ensure the advance.

"In the following months, whether the players could have enough matches to play worries me a lot. It is a constructional problem, and it need to be resolved by Chinese Football Association and clubs," Hiddink said.

For the next two matches of Group J, China will face the Philippines on Sunday and meet Malaysia on Tuesday.

For Matchday One, the results are:

Group A Oman 1-0 Nepal; Qatar 2-0 Afghanistan

Group B Palestine 9-0 Sri Lanka; Bahrain 1-0 Bangladesh

Group C Iraq 5-0 Yemen; IR Iran 3-1 Turkmenistan

Group D UAE 6-1 Lebanon; Saudi Arabia 6-0 Maldives

Group E Syria 2-0 Kyrgyz Republic; Jordan 2-1 Kuwait

Group F India 0-3 Uzbekistan

Group G Hong Kong, China 1-1 Singapore; DPR Korea 1-0 Mongolia

Group H Korea Republic 8-0 Chinese Taipei; Australia 6-0 Cambodia

Group I Japan 8-0 Macau, China; Myanmar 7-0 Timor-Leste

Group J China 5-0 Laos; Malaysia 3-0 Philippines

Group K Thailand 4-0 Indonesia; Vietnam 6-0 Brunei Darussalam

(With input from Xinhua News Agency)