It was a throw-in for the China team. Full-back Guan Zhe walked over to take it, while the rest positioned themselves for a potential attack.
Kai also drifted forward, hovering near the penalty area, waiting for the right moment.
Japan's aerial defense wasn't particularly dominant, and with his confidence in the air, Kai felt this was a chance worth challenging.
Wang Yi moved proactively to receive the throw. After cushioning the ball on his chest, he feinted left, spun sharply to the right, and left the Japanese full-back a step behind. Maya Yoshida closed in immediately.
Even so, Wang Yi didn't hesitate—after a couple of step-overs, he pushed the ball into a bit of space and whipped a cross toward the penalty area.
"Wang Yi delivers! Who's there at the near post?"
Duan Xuan's voice rose just as Kai launched himself into the air amid a cluster of defenders.
His jump was clean, and his timing was immaculate. Even with Japan's centre-backs pressing into him, Kai stayed composed, braced by his powerful core.
The ball dropped toward him. Kai locked his eyes on it. Just as it reached him, he snapped his neck back and redirected the header sharply.
It skimmed off his forehead and darted toward the far post.
"Oh no…"
Japan's goalkeeper Kawashima Eiji froze for half a second. He expected a contested header, not such a controlled, decisive flick.
His eyes widened—no one was guarding the back post.
A defender should've been there, but the earlier movement from China had pulled everyone toward the far side.
The ball smacked the post and bounced straight into the net.
"Goal!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Duan Xuan practically leapt from his seat, arms raised high.
WHOOSH!!!!!
In the stands, the eruption from over ninety thousand Chinese fans shook the Bird's Nest.
They believed China could score, but they didn't expect it this early—nor in such emphatic fashion.
"Kai!! His first appearance for the national team in a friendly—and he scores! We've seen him dominate aerial duels in the Premier League, scoring headers in both the league and the Champions League for Arsenal. But this one—this one is for China!"
Duan Xuan continued, fired up, "Maya Yoshida and Morishige Masato were all over him, but they still couldn't contain Kai. Only eight minutes in, and he's given us the lead!"
"Beautifully done, Kai!"
Inside the stadium, the noise was overwhelming. Fans shouted, laughed, and hugged each other as the drummers hammered away with renewed energy.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Son! Oh my God! He scored!"
Wang Peipei shot to her feet the moment the ball hit the net.
She didn't know much about football, but she knew goals were everything.
And her son had just scored the first one.
"Damn, that was incredible!"
"Old Le, your son is unbelievable!"
"Kai! He looked like he just took off!"
"Brilliant!"
"Finish them off!!"
Surrounded by cheers, Le Jianguo shouted along with everyone else, his chest swelling with pride.
His son had scored the opening goal for China—and against Japan, no less.
Even if it was only a friendly match, it meant everything.
On the pitch, Kai ran to the corner flag with a wide grin, celebrating simply. It wasn't an official tournament match, but the moment was still sweet.
The goal also reassured him—the team's overall condition felt solid.
On the bench, Liu Hongbo and the coaching staff clapped with broad smiles.
Liu Hongbo, especially, had been waiting for Kai's debut for a very long time. In his plans, Kai's primary job was to control the midfield and supply the forwards. He hadn't expected Kai to be the first one on the scoresheet.
A surprise—one of the best kinds.
"At twenty minutes, get the substitutes ready," Liu Hongbo said, still smiling.
Liu Hongbo leaned toward his staff. "At the twenty-minute mark, get ready for the first round of changes."
The match came with no substitution limits, so the priority was to rotate the squad and keep everyone sharp.
Of course, Kai wasn't part of that rotation—at least not early. If he was coming off, it would only be in the final minutes. Liu Hongbo wanted him to blend into this team as quickly as possible. Who knew what other surprises he might bring?
Kai's early goal had clearly rattled Japan, but they didn't dwell on it. For a friendly, the objective wasn't the result—it was to spot issues before the real battles began. Not finding any problems would've been the bigger concern.
Play resumed, and after the restart, Japan shifted its structure and produced a few neat attacking moves. But every path they planned had one requirement: avoid Kai.
No one on the Japanese side wanted to deal with him head-on in midfield.
Behind him, the Chinese back line reorganized efficiently under Fernando Kairui's guidance.
"This is honestly a joy to play," Fernando muttered with a grin after clearing a cross and landing on both feet.
Kai's presence meant Japan's forwards rarely had a clean run at the defense, and the pressure on the back line dropped significantly.
Now that Japan's attacks were leaning heavily on the wings, Fernando knew exactly where danger would come from. Last year's painful loss in the qualifiers still lingered in his memory. Back then, China had no real shield in front of its defense. Guo Liang and Yu Hao weren't natural enforcers, nor did they have Kai's precision in tackling and interception.
Japan pushed forward freely, using its classic triple-threat combination, and Fernando had struggled to cope.
But this time? Kai was standing right in front of him. He couldn't block every wide attack, but he didn't need to. The structure held. If the defenders couldn't handle this level of pressure, they had no business playing professionally.
Both teams traded attacks, and neither gave the other space to breathe. More importantly, China had finally seized control of the tempo. In previous meetings with Japan, China often sat deep, absorbed pressure, and relied on fast counters due to the midfield imbalance.
The plan today was still built around countering, but Kai had completely pinned down the Kagawa–Honda axis. Both of Japan's key creators liked dropping centrally to receive the ball, but every time they tried, Kai was already there. Their dribbles led nowhere; after being dispossessed several times, they abandoned the central lane entirely.
And with the midfield firmly in his hands, Kai kept raising the pace.
Wang Yi, Chen Man, Fernando Kairui, Guo Liang, and Yu Hao handled the tempo well—they were used to high-intensity pressure playing abroad. Kai, meanwhile, relied on Chen Man and Jia Zhenhua to stretch Japan from both flanks.
Chen Man's pace spoke for itself—every time he pushed forward, the Japanese back line reacted in panic. Jia Zhenhua, on the other hand, relied on technical finesse. He didn't have Chen Man's speed, but his timing and delivery were exceptional, and he and Kai already had a solid understanding from their link-ups.
But both flanks were tightly guarded, leaving Kai to improvise.
Eventually, his gaze shifted toward Wang Yi.
Wang Yi lived for runs in behind. His shooting was elite, but his pace, strength, and dribbling were average. The reason he secured a place at Paris Saint-Germain was his remarkable sense of timing and finishing.
And right now, he was already ghosting along the defensive line, waiting for the gap to appear.
...
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