Chapter 26: The First National Team Journey of a Mere Bystander

“Mom, did you watch my game yesterday too? Your son didn’t do too badly, right?”
On the morning after the match against South City FC, Dai Zhiwei was awakened by a call from his mother.

“I saw in the news that you have a girlfriend now?” His mother tried to keep her tone as neutral as possible.

Dai Zhiwei glanced at Zhong Luchun, who was still lying in bed, made sure the balcony door was shut tight, and whispered, “That’s not true. Don’t believe those shameless journalists.”

“But what the reporters said didn’t sound fake. And there are pictures of you holding hands with that girl circulating online,” his mother replied, unconvinced.

“Heh, we’re just good friends,” Dai Zhiwei laughed it off. “Don’t worry, in a few years, I’ll bring you a daughter-in-law.”

After a bit more nagging, his mother finally hung up, though she was clearly reluctant.

Give up the whole forest for a single tree? Dai Zhiwei had always aspired to be a diligent lumberjack!

...

On June 1, the Bhutan national team arrived in Hong Kong, China, to prepare for the second round of the 2018 Russia World Cup Asian qualifiers. As one of China’s group opponents, Bhutan announced their 23-man roster. They would face China on June 16.

Previously, Bhutan had made history by defeating Sri Lanka to qualify for the second round. They were grouped with China, Qatar, Maldives, and Hong Kong. Their coach, the Japanese Norio Tsukitate, named a squad made up almost entirely of amateurs, with five players receiving their first call-ups.

According to the schedule, China had a bye in the first round on June 11, while Bhutan faced Hong Kong. In the second round on June 16, China would meet Bhutan in their opening match.

A month earlier, the Chinese Football Association had held a press conference in Beijing, unveiling a 30-man squad for the opening match against Bhutan. The players came from seven Super League clubs, with Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao contributing nine players, the largest contingent.

The most attention-grabbing selection was, naturally, Dai Zhiwei’s first call-up to the national team.

In truth, his selection was no surprise. As the leading scorer in both the Super League and the Asian Champions League, it would have been a scandal if he hadn’t been called up. With no issues between Perrin, Dai Zhiwei, and Evergrande, there was no reason to leave a striker in such hot form out of the squad.

Before reporting to the national team, Dai Zhiwei played the full matches for Evergrande in round 12 against Guizhou Renhe and round 13 against Tianjin Teda.

In both matches, Dai Zhiwei found the net, helping Evergrande maintain their winning streak and further strengthening his lead atop the league’s scoring chart. The entire Chinese media was full of praise for Dai Zhiwei, and when he joined the national team, he didn’t feel out of place—after all, nine of the thirty players were from Evergrande.

However, having never attended a national team training camp, Dai Zhiwei was unfamiliar with teammates outside the Evergrande contingent. So in the first few days after arriving, he focused on adjusting and getting to know his new teammates.

Given these circumstances, Dai Zhiwei fully understood why Perrin didn’t start him against Bhutan.

Prior to this match, China had won the opening fixture in seven consecutive World Cup qualifying campaigns: since defeating Bangladesh 2-0 in the first match of the 1990 qualifiers, China had claimed victory in every opening match for eight straight editions. Most opponents, apart from Jordan and Kuwait, were minnows like Bangladesh, Turkmenistan, Maldives, Myanmar, Laos, and Bhutan.

Ranked 79th in the world, China was the second-highest ranked team Bhutan had ever faced, and the highest to play in Bhutan. In 2003, Bhutan edged out Guam and Mongolia to reach the 2004 Asian Cup qualifiers, where they played two matches against then-world-number-49 Saudi Arabia, losing 0-6 and 0-4.

“This home stadium isn’t much better than our high school field!” Sitting on the bench, Dai Zhiwei couldn’t help but complain as he surveyed Changlimithang Stadium.

Changlimithang Stadium, in the Bhutanese capital Thimphu, is a multi-purpose venue and serves as the national stadium, with a capacity of 25,000. It is also the country’s first venue for open-air theatrical performances.

It’s worth noting that the stadium is usually used for archery.

While Dai Zhiwei’s thoughts drifted, the referee’s whistle signaled the start of the match.

Bhutan, kicking off, showed no home confidence at all—within ten seconds, their entire team retreated into their own half, even their forwards falling back to defend, and China, not fully prepared, squandered several good chances.

Less than a minute in, China’s low cross from the right was cleared over the end line by Jigme Dorji. Jiang Zhipeng’s resulting corner was flicked on by Mei Fang, but Wu Lei’s backheel from a meter out was gathered by Bhutan’s keeper Hari Gurung.

Four minutes later, Yang Xu chipped into the box, and Wu Lei’s volley was miraculously saved by Gurung. Gao Lin’s close-range follow-up was also smothered.

In the ninth minute, a long ball from China’s defense saw Gurung rush out of his box and handle the ball, but the referee only showed him a yellow card. China got a free kick from just outside the area; Wu Lei took it, but the ball flashed just wide of the post—a missed chance to break the deadlock.

In the 44th minute, a cross from China’s right reached the far post. Wu Lei headed it across goal, but Sun Ke, with the goal at his mercy, scuffed his shot—another gilt-edged opportunity wasted.

In the second minute of first-half stoppage time, Jiang Zhipeng’s long pass found Sun Ke in the box, who headed it on to Yang Xu. Yang Xu’s shot deflected off Dawa Gyeltshen and bounced into the net. China took a fortunate 1-0 lead.

The second half began with Bhutan delivering a shock to China. A through ball from midfield saw Chencho Gyeltshen break free and charge into the box, only to see his low shot to the near post parried brilliantly by Yan Junling.

Three minutes later, Lungchu Dorji crossed from the right, and Chencho Gyeltshen’s volley forced another fine save from Yan Junling, who tipped it behind.

Fortunately, China soon asserted their dominance.

In the 55th minute, Zheng Zhi’s corner was met by Ren Hang, whose header was saved by Gurung. Yang Xu’s follow-up was also blocked for another corner. Zheng Zhi delivered again; at the far post, Gao Lin’s header was parried onto the bar by Gurung, and Wu Lei’s header was similarly pushed onto the frame. Wu Lei then rose again, finally nodding the ball past Gurung’s outstretched fingers to make it 2-0.

In the 60th minute, China won the ball in midfield and threaded it into the area. Yang Xu burst into the box and slotted past Gurung at the near post for 3-0.

In the 66th minute, Sun Ke shook off his marker outside the area and lofted the ball to the far post. Wu Lei chested it down and laid it off for Yu Dabao, who had just come on as a substitute. Yu Dabao calmly swept it home for 4-0.

Ten minutes later, China won possession on the edge of the box and worked it to Liu Binbin on the left. He drove to the byline and squared it across goal. Yang Xu eluded his marker and tapped into an empty net, completing his hat-trick and making it 5-0.

With Yang Xu’s hat-trick secured, Perrin used his final substitution to bring Dai Zhiwei on for Yang Xu.

After embracing Yang Xu, Dai Zhiwei sprinted onto the pitch.

He glanced up at Bhutan’s simple scoreboard—77 minutes and 21 seconds. This was the moment of his national team debut.

“With injury time, I’ll have about 15 minutes. Let’s try to score—otherwise, I’ll have just watched the game!” Dai Zhiwei set himself a small target.

Dai Zhiwei played with great energy, and with experienced teammates like Zheng Zhi and Gao Lin still on the pitch, his calls for support did not go unanswered.

In the 83rd minute, a Bhutan midfield error was pounced on by Zheng Zhi, who fed Gao Lin at the edge of the box. Gao Lin slipped the ball left, and Dai Zhiwei, getting ahead of the defender, rifled a powerful left-footed shot from ten meters.

The ball was struck so fiercely it seemed to deform in flight. Gurung managed to get a hand to it, but couldn’t stop it from flying into the near corner—6-0!

Dai Zhiwei, elated at scoring, leapt onto Gao Lin, who had provided the assist.

Poor Gao Lin was bowled over, his world going black as he was tackled to the ground.

With his first national team goal in the bag, Dai Zhiwei lost all desire to torment the minnows further and settled into a more relaxed style, along with his teammates, as Perrin signaled to wind down the attack.

Thus, China cruised to a 6-0 victory in their opening World Cup qualifier—a solid start to their latest campaign for football’s greatest stage.