Matildas keep Rio impetus, thrash Vietnam

The Australian women's football team have taken another step towards Olympic Games qualification with a 9-0 rout of Vietnam in Osaka, Japan.

Stand-in captain Kyah Simon netted a first-half hat-trick as Australia quickly put the contest to bed on Wednesday after they held a 5-0 advantage at halftime.

Vietnam set out with a deep, compact defence after an ill-prepared side lost with an embarrassing 11-0 scoreline last year in Sydney against the Matildas.

But there was only ever going to be one winner once Emily Gielnik broke the deadlock for her first international goal after 10 minutes, and the Aussie were 3-0 up by the 20-minute mark.

Defender Alanna Kennedy also scored her first goal in national team colours, while there were second-half strikes from Emily van Egmond, as well as all three substitutes - Ashleigh Sykes, Michelle Heyman and Clare Polkinghorne.

Australia made six changes to their starting side from the opening match including, most notably, a debut for 15-year-old year-10 student Ellie Carpenter at fullback.

The Matildas opened the Asian qualifying tournament on Monday with a crucial 3-1 win over Women's World Cup runners-up Japan.

A second win has the Matildas with a perfect record and in top spot on the standings, with only the top two to qualify for Rio.