Then, his Guangzhou-based Hong Kong Premier League club R&F dissolved in 2020 amid financial woes during the coronavirus pandemic.

Without a team to play for, nor a pay cheque arriving in his bank account, Nunez almost quit the game for good, nearly abandoning his childhood dream of pulling on the Hong Kong shirt.

“The clubs in Hong Kong, after Covid, nobody was trying to pick up players, nobody could pay wages. It wasn’t easy. You couldn’t even train on the pitch, everything was closed during Covid.

“I had a moment where I almost gave it up. I almost had to find a normal job, because I’m supporting my family. I come from quite a humble background. So I don’t have … like, a lot of these boys they come from quite wealthy families in Hong Kong. I come from a more simple background.

“So I have to put food on the table for my mum and my family. Those five months were tough. I had to think a lot about what I wanted.”

A lifeline came when Nunez got the opportunity to return to the mainland for a trial with Chinese second-tier club Meizhou Hakka in February 2021.

“I got a phone call from an agent,” Nunez said. “He watched all my highlights and was wondering why I don’t play high-level football, why I was without a club. I explained everything.”

After three weeks of quarantine in “the middle of nowhere” where he did not see sunlight and left the room five kilograms lighter, Nunez drove to the club for a “full-on” trial – and landed himself a five-year deal after just seven days.

“It was a huge risk. There was not even a bike inside the room and you start preseason immediately, but you just have to take it,” he said. “It was a blessing. Ever since then I haven’t looked back, and things are going well.”

Such was his impressive form during his 36 appearances, Nunez landed a move to the top-tier Chinese Super League with Dalian Pro in August 2022.

But perhaps it was no surprise that Nunez had the mental fortitude to tough things out, given that he has never had it easy.

“I was born and raised on Lamma. Big family, single mum, six of us kids. We’ve been on welfare since the beginning,” said Nunez, who has spent most of his life in Hong Kong and is fluent in Cantonese.

“Six kids with welfare in Hong Kong is not easy. You’re barely scraping by each month, and can’t afford to go to school really. You have to drop out early. All these things play in, but I had football in the back of my head since I was a kid.

“You know, ‘I’m gonna be a football player, I’m gonna be a football player’. You have people coming at you like, ‘all right, that’s the dream, but where’s the reality? You’re 14 or 15 now, you’re barely going to school, you’ve got to find a job’. You’re kind of like, ‘Yeah, yeah’ but in the back of my head I had a target. You just have to work for it.”

So, as he looked around under the bright lights at Hong Kong Stadium, and heard his family cheering his name amid the crowd of nearly 14,000 fans who turned up, Nunez afforded himself a smile.

“When you put on that [Hong Kong] jersey, it’s everything, right?” he said. “I hope there will be many more times. I’m still kind of taking it all in.

“It’s a little funny. My friends and family always joke that my whole career has been difficulty after difficulty, just trying to get the next step. From my passport to losing my club, all these little things, just hiccups, but staying positive.

“This all happening shows the hard work I’m putting in is working out, it’s going well. Those times were difficult but it all paid off.”

With the CSL season still in full swing, Nunez will have to head back to Dalian soon – but not before he gets some much-deserved time to celebrate.

“It’s been a while since I was back here,” said Nunez, who missed last September’s home clash with Myanmar and was an unused substitute in March against Singapore.

“It’s always really intense as you’re back for a couple of days with the national team. You have to mix in recovery, try to get more rest, but you have to see your family. It’s a bit of a rush. I’m glad I have two days now I can just chill with my mum and my sister and see my nephew and things like that.

“We have a cup game on the 22nd [of June], but the coach has given me it off. We have a really tight schedule, and the league games are a little bit more important right now and I’m playing every game, so I need to take some time to recover.

“We have a [league] game on the 28th. I’ll head back to Dalian on Thursday and start training with the club and get back on it. Hopefully we can battle our way back up. It’s been a tough season for us, but we’re staying positive.”