The United States and Mexico both opened their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaigns with 3-1 wins, while Honduras suffered a surprise loss in the opening fixtures of the third round. The Americans beat Antigua and Barbuda in their CONCACAF Group A encounter in Florida with captain Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey and Herculez Gomez all scoring. Antigua replied with a goal from substitute Peter Byers but was unable to find the net again as the US sealed the win with Gomez's strike after 71 minutes. Carlos Salcido and Giovani Dos Santos both scored inside the first 15 minutes as Mexico cruised to victory over Guyana in Group B. Mexico increased its lead when John Rodrigues scored an own goal but Guyana pulled one back when Mexico's Hector Moreno deflected the ball into his own goal just after the hour mark. Honduras was beaten 2-0 at home by Panama in Group C. Canada held on to beat Cuba 1-0 in Havana despite having goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld sent off in the second half, also in Group C. Olivier Occean won it for the visitors with a header after 54 minutes but Canada was then reduced to 10 men when Hirschfeld was red carded after 63 minutes for handling the ball outside the penalty area. Demar Phillips and Ryan Johnson both scored to lead Jamaica to a 2-1 win over Guatemala in Group A, extending its unbeaten streak to 13 games against the Central Americans. In the other Group B match, Costa Rica was held to a 2-2 draw by El Salvador, which did well to battle back from a two-goal deficit after just 15 minutes. Australia struggles While Asian champion Japan continued its confident march toward the World Cup Finals by handing 10-man Jordan a record-equalling 6-0 defeat Friday, rival Australia struggled under the scorching sun in the Middle East. The Socceroos escaped Oman with a 0-0 draw after a disjointed display in muggy Muscat where the 35 Celsius temperatures had a big impact. Perennial World Cup qualifier South Korea had no such struggles in a later kickoff as it beat Qatar 4-1 at the air-conditioned Al-Sadd Stadium in Doha. South Korea plays at home Tuesday against Lebanon which picked up its first point of the fourth round stage with a 1-1 draw against Uzbekistan in Beirut.
