"Wu's role in our team is not just about scoring goals," said China head coach Alexandar Jankovic after his star man scored in a 2-0 win over Palestine earlier in the year.

 

"His link-up play and running can help us better tear apart the opponent's defence, creating more space and better scoring opportunities for his teammates.

 

"Through his excellent individual ability, he has improved the performance of his teammates. His style of playing can help his teammates become better players.”

 

Born in Nanjing, Wu joined the youth ranks of Shanghai Port as a teenager and, at 14 years and 287 days, became the youngest player to play professional Chinese football when he made his debut in September 2006. 

Having impressed at youth level internationally, meanwhile, Wu was called into the senior China side for the first time ahead of the 2010 East Asian Football Championship. However, it wasn’t until 2013 when he became a regular and he scored his first goal – the decisive strike – in a 4-3 victory over Australia.

 

In early 2015, Wu made his first appearance at the AFC Asian Cup, helping China top their group before elimination to hosts Australia in the quarter-finals. Domestically, he had developed into a feared goalscorer as Shanghai sought to end the dominance of Guangzhou FC. 

 

Over the next few years, Wu was a key member of a Shanghai frontline that dazzled in the AFC Champions League as he, Hulk, Oscar and Ai Kesen lit up the competition. A semi-final appearance in 2017 was the best they managed before a first Chinese Super League title arrived in 2018, with Wu’s 27 goals seeing him finish as top scorer. 

The following year, Wu achieved yet more milestones. In early 2019, he scored his first AFC Asian Cup goals – a brace against the Philippines – as China ultimately reached the quarter-finals. 

 

And with Wu’s star shining brightly, Spain’s RCD Espanyol came calling soon after and he became the first Chinese player to score in the Spanish top flight when he netted in a 2-1 win over Real Valladolid in March of that year. 

 

A goal in a UEFA Europa League win against CSKA Moscow and an equaliser in a draw with city rivals FC Barcelona were among the other highlights of his three years in Spain that also included a relegation, a promotion and well over 100 appearances. 

Wu returned to Shanghai in 2022 and fired them to a second Chinese Super League title in 2023, scoring 18 goals in the process.

 

While China fell short of a place in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Wu’s four goals saw him finish joint-top scorer in the third round of qualifying. And he is already off the mark in the Preliminary Joint Qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™, scoring in a 2-1 win over Thailand in November. 

 

Wu’s focus will now shift to January’s AFC Asian Cup. Twice a quarter-finalist, his aim will be to go at least one better this time round.