Sydney — Captain Mile Jedinak led the way with a second-half hat-trick as Australia brushed aside Honduras 3-1 in the second leg of their inter-confederation playoff to secure a place at the 2018 World Cup finals on Wednesday. The midfielder scored from a deflected free-kick and two penalties to give Australia a comfortable aggregate victory and send the Asian champions to the finals for the fourth straight tournament. Honduras, who had been held to a 0-0 draw in the home leg last week, had been bidding for a third successive World Cup appearance but offered little in attack until Alberth Elis’s stoppage-time goal. "It’s a bit hard to describe, it’s unreal," Jedinak said in a post-match interview. "We knew it was always going to be a difficult qualifying campaign but this makes it very, very special. It’s been a tough two-and-a-half years to get to this point but we did it. We’re very grateful we’re going to another World Cup." It was the 22nd match of Australia’s qualifying campaig...
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