Wu Lei at the double as China hits Guam for seven
Striker Alan Carvalho scores China's sixth goal against Guam during their 2022 World Cup Asia qualifier at Suzhou Olympic Sports Center in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, on Sunday. The hosts won 7-0 as Carvalho scored two late goals.
Spain-based striker Wu Lei scored twice as China thrashed Guam 7-0 in the second round of Asia's qualifying tournament for the 2022 World Cup on Sunday in front of almost 30,000 fans in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.
The Espanyol forward opened the scoring in coach Li Tie's first competitive game as head coach and netted his side's third, with Jin Jingdao, Wu Xi and Elkeson also on target before substitute Alan Carvalho's late brace.
Victory moves China into second place in Group A, five points behind leader Syria and three clear of the Philippines in third place.
Only the group winners are guaranteed to advance to the next round of Asia's preliminaries along with the four runners-up across the eight groups with the best records.
Wu Lei gave the Chinese the lead from the penalty spot in the 20th minute, nonchalantly stroking the ball past Dallas Jaye after being upended in the area by Marlon Evens.
Jin doubled China's advantage six minutes before the break when he latched on to Wu Xi's perfectly weighted through ball. Wu Lei claimed his second 10 minutes after the interval, sweeping his effort home after Zhang Xizhe's cut back.
Wu Xi side-footed in from inside the six-yard box in the 61st to put China 4-0 up, and Brazil-born Guangzhou FC striker Elkeson added the fifth midway through the half with a powerful downward header.
Wu Lei (center) celebrates scoring China's third goal against Guam with teammates during their 2022 World Cup Asia qualifier in Suzhou on Sunday. The Espanyol striker scored a brace in the 7-0 hammering.
Carvalho, another of China's naturalized Brazilian players, pushed Zhang Yuning's center over the line with his thigh six minutes from time and scored his second of the night four minutes later when he headed in Wei Shihao's cross.
Wu Lei, who struggled for game time this season as Espanyol won promotion back to Spain's top tier, was substituted with just under 30 minutes left.
Apart from Elkeson and Carvalho, coach Li, a former Everton midfielder, also fielded another naturalized player in former England youth defender Tyias Browning.
All remaining Group A matches for all five teams will take place in a secure "bubble" in Suzhou as part of measures to thwart the coronavirus.
China faces the Maldives on Thursday, followed by more difficult games against the Philippines and Syria.
