Written by Han Bing On the evening of June 5, the national team's 2-1 away victory over Singapore in a friendly was a landmark game for Wu Lei's career: substituted on in the 81st minute, he made his 100th appearance in international "A" matches, becoming the eighth centurion in national team history. Starting from his debut at the East Asian Cup in 2010, through 16 years and 3 months of steadfast dedication, Wu Lei has become one of China's most accomplished players. On the evening of June 9, when the national team hosts Thailand at home, the Football Association will hold a ceremony to commemorate Wu Lei's 100 "A" appearances, honoring his outstanding achievements and inspiring the younger generation of Chinese football.

A century of appearances: a hard-earned milestone

It took Wu Lei a full 16 years to reach this milestone of 100 "A" matches. In February 2010, he was first selected for the national team's East Asian Cup squad. In the third match against Hong Kong, China, he came off the bench to make his debut. Of these 100 "A" matches, Wu Lei started 84 and came on as a substitute 16 times. Over 16 years of persistence, he has competed in four Asian Cups and four World Cup qualifying campaigns. Following Zhang Linpeng in 2023, Wu Lei became the eighth national team player to reach 100 "A" appearances, still 12 games behind the leader Li Weifeng. From his "A" debut to the century mark, Wu Lei's wait time exceeded Zheng Zhi's (nearly 16 years), making him the longest among the eight centurions in national team history, highlighting the difficulty of such sustained dedication.

In 100 "A" matches, Wu Lei has scored a total of 36 goals for the national team: 20 goals in 39 World Cup qualifiers across four campaigns, making him the national team's all-time top scorer in World Cup qualifiers. Notably, during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, he netted 12 goals in the Round of 36 and Round of 18 combined, a single-campaign record for the national team. Additionally, he has scored 11 goals in 42 "A" friendlies, 2 goals in 10 Asian Cup matches, 2 goals in 5 East Asian Cup games, and 1 goal in 4 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Wu Lei has scored against strong Asian teams such as Australia, Japan, Qatar, Iraq, and Uzbekistan, and has delivered crucial goals in important matches. In November 2013, during the Asian Cup qualifiers, he scored to help the national team narrowly defeat Indonesia at home, securing qualification as one of the best third-placed teams for the 2015 Asian Cup.

After three consecutive failures to reach the final stage of World Cup Asian qualifiers, the national team then advanced to the final group stage three times in a row, with Wu Lei playing a vital role: in March 2016, in the final round of the Round of 40, he scored to beat Qatar, helping the national team return to the final stage of World Cup Asian qualifiers for the first time in three editions; in June 2021, in the last match of the Round of 40, he converted a penalty against Syria, lifting the national team to the top five second-placed teams and into the Round of 12; in the 2024 Round of 36, Wu Lei scored braces in both home and away matches against Singapore, allowing the national team to edge out Thailand and reach the Round of 18.

In the 30 "A" matches where Wu Lei scored, the national team achieved 24 wins, 5 draws, and 1 loss, an 80% win rate. His most recent goal for the national team came on March 26, 2024, in a 4-1 victory over Singapore during the Round of 36 qualifiers. It is a fitting coincidence that he reached the 100 "A" match milestone against the same opponent.

"The Hope of the Village": Achievements beyond the century mark

In fact, Wu Lei has played 103 official matches for the national team. From late 2014 to early 2015, under coach Alain Perrin, the team played three friendlies ahead of the 2015 Asian Cup: two matches against Kyrgyzstan in Chenzhou (December 13) and Qingyuan (December 17) were not recognized as "A" matches due to unlimited substitutions, and a closed-door friendly on January 3, 2015, a 4-1 win over Oman, was also excluded. Wu Lei appeared and scored in all three. Including these, he has actually made 103 appearances and scored 38 goals for the national team. If he scores three more, he will become the national team's all-time leading scorer.

As a player who experienced the low point of Chinese football in the 21st century, Wu Lei's achievements go far beyond his 100 international "A" matches. He is the most recent Chinese player to feature in Europe's top five leagues, and his peak market value of €10 million remains a record for Chinese players. It is uncertain when another Chinese player will reach these milestones. During Chinese football's downturn, Wu Lei, as "the hope of the village," became the most closely followed flagbearer for Chinese fans.

Years of high-intensity and high-density matches have caused Wu Lei multiple injuries, sometimes forcing him to play through pain. After becoming a regular in the national team from June 2013 onward, he missed as many as 32 matches, including the last four East Asian Cups and the final six games of the 2026 World Cup Asian Round of 18 qualifiers. Had his physical condition allowed, Wu Lei could have reached the 100 "A" match milestone at least two years earlier.

With 36 goals in 100 "A" matches, an average of 0.36 per game, Wu Lei's scoring efficiency is not among the top tier in national team history, and he has missed several key scoring chances in "A" matches. Among national team players with at least 20 goals, his average scoring rate lags behind Liu Haiguang, Ma Lin, Su Maozhen, Yang Xu, and Zhao Dayu. However, flaws do not overshadow merits. In the darkest decade or more of Chinese football, Wu Lei can be regarded as a benchmark figure holding up the hope of the national team. Now officially entering the "100-match centurion" hall of fame for national "A" matches, his contributions to the national team deserve resounding applause.