Wu Lei's Return: China's Last Hope for World Cup Qualifiers

Wu Lei is poised to make his highly anticipated return to China's national football squad, marking his first appearance in over eight months. After recovering from a knee injury, the 33-year-old former Espanyol winger rejoins the team ahead of crucial World Cup qualifiers against Indonesia and Bahrain.

With 36 goals in 99 matches for China, Lei's presence is expected to inject much-needed dynamism into the forward line, which struggled in their recent outings. Shanghai Port's performance helped Lei reclaim his spot, while untested midfielder Yang Mingyang also joins the squad after switching allegiance from Switzerland.

Facing a steep challenge, China lies at the bottom of Group C and battles to advance to the next round of qualifiers. With a history of only one World Cup qualification in 2002, China's hopes now rest on overcoming Bahrain and Indonesia in the final qualification rounds.

(With inputs from agencies.)