By Lincoln van der Westhuizen
NANNING, China, March 22 (Xinhua) -- China head coach Marcello Lippi was "disappointed" in his side's performance after they lost 6-0 to Wales in their China Cup opener in Nanning, China. The hosts came up against a rampant Gareth Bale who scored a hat-trick and was talismanic for Wales on the night.
Lippi cut a disappointed figure at the press conference but was realistic about his side's ambitions for the tournament. "[The result was] not unexpected because it is a strong opponent. What is unexpected is the performance of the team. It's my responsibility. I take all the responsibility. It was my mistake to call up some players that I shouldn't have called up for these matches," Lippi said.
The Italian made wholesale changes at half time but it was not enough to stop Wales from scoring two more goals and putting an added sheen to the scoreline.
Lippi was somewhat critical of his attack and the performance of the players, and made it clear that there was a lot to work on. "I don't want to talk about the attacking side of the [performance] . What is most important is the mentality of the players," Lippi said.
For his part, Wales head coach Ryan Giggs was pleased with how things worked out on his first night in charge. "We were at it right from the beginning. On the front foot. I've got the utmost respect for Marcello Lippi. It was a great privilege to come up against such a legendary coach in my first game," Giggs said.
Ultimately the night belonged to Gareth Bale. The player's performance on the night will long be remembered by the 46 533 people in attendance.
Bale surpassed Ian Rush's goal tally for Wales when he scored his 29th goal for his country.
Even though he is now officially Wales' most prolific goal scorer he was quick to point out the contributions of his teammates. "It's great to break the record. I couldn't have done it without the teammates. It's also down to the teammates. The most important thing is to get off to a good start under the new manager and we're happy with where we're going," the Real Madrid forward said.
