China beat Kuwait 3-1 in friendly as naturalized Serginho makes debut

China defeated Kuwait 3-1 in an international friendly behind closed doors in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Saturday, with the winning side's latest naturalized player, Sai Erjiniao (Serginho), celebrating his 30th birthday by making his national team debut.

The Chinese side scored all of their three goals in the first half. Li Lei broke the deadlock first and then Kuwait blundered into an own goal. Behram Abduweli added a third for China shortly before the break.

Both teams sent on multiple substitutes in the second half and that's when the 30-year-old Sai Erjiniao (Serginho), who previously held dual citizenship from Italy and his native Brazil, stepped onto the pitch for his first appearance for his new country. Wang Yudong also debuted for the Chinese squad in the latter stages of the match.

Sai Erjiniao (Serginho) is currently in his first season with Chinese Super League (CSL) club Beijing Guoan, after spending the previous five years with rival side Changchun Yatai. He posted a photo of himself holding a Chinese identification card earlier this week on Sina Weibo.

The Kuwaitis found the net late in the second half to avoid a shutout.

China will now depart Dubai for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to prepare for their 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualification game against Saudi Arabia on Thursday, March 20, before hosting Australia in Hangzhou on Tuesday, March 25.

The Chinese side sit at the bottom of Group C in the qualifying competition with six points, trailing Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia on goal difference. The top two teams will secure automatic qualification for next year's World Cup in Canada/USA/Mexico, while the third and fourth placed teams continue to compete in the next round.