Antoine Semenyo still has to pinch himself at his meteoric rise to the World Cup finals.
When holders France triumphed in Russia during the last tournament, the Bristol City striker had just finished a loan spell with Bath City in the National League South. On the final day of that season, he was handed his Robins debut coming off the bench as a substitute for Lloyd Kelly in a 3-2 defeat against Sheffield United.
Fast forward four years and Semenyo's footballing journey reached another major milestone when his name was confirmed among Otto Addo's 26-man squad heading to Qatar. He is the only current Bristol City player flying the flag in the Middle East.
As soon as the World Cup is mentioned, the 22-year-old shares a beaming grin. His pride and happiness are infectious as he describes the moment he learned of his call-up to play on the biggest stage of them all.
"I woke up and got a call from a Ghana number I wasn’t sure and I was sceptical about picking it up," he said recalling his unforgettable moment. "The assistant coach said I had been selected. It felt so surreal, I couldn't believe what he was saying. I thought it was a fake number at one stage.
"When he told me I was so excited and rolled around in my bed and I was so happy. It’s all the hard work that has gone into it. You don’t get so many memories like this, it’s so surreal I am talking about going to the World Cup. I never imagined getting this far."
Semenyo's journey to Qatar began at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College when he was headhunted by former Leeds head coach David Hockaday. Their partnership with City allowed the club to offer the then 17-year-old a two-year contract after being alerted of his potential.
Loans at Bath, Newport County and Sunderland would follow until becoming an established member of the City first-team during the 2020/21 campaign. He ended the season with two league goals during a tumultuous campaign that saw manager Nigel Pearson replace Dean Holden.
A long-term injury knee injury threatened to disrupt his progress at the beginning of last season but he returned to the picture around Christmas to transform City's attack. His ruthless league form would then earn him his international debut for Ghana against Madagascar in the summer.
Semenyo added: "I can’t describe the feeling, I saw my mum and dad in the crowd smiling. My uncles and aunties saw me on TV and it felt so surreal.
"I can’t wait to get out there again. The family will be out there for sure, 100 per cent. I’m trying to get a few of them out there, that is in the pipeline."
His international debut was then marred by a shin injury picked up following his second cap against Brazil that ruled him out of pre-season before eventually returning, and scoring, in the Carabao Cup victory over Wycombe in August.
"It’s been a long journey," Semenyo said. "Funnily enough, I was speaking with friends from home recently and saying the journey from college to here has been so crazy.
"You’ve got to work hard, be resilient and you have to graft and it gets you to these places, so I am happy. The injuries have been tough but I’ve massively prepared myself to work hard to make sure I come back better and stronger.
"I study my game and be the best I can be, I have done enough to get where I am now so I have to keep going."
With Portugal, a bitter 2010 reunion against Uruguay and South Korea in Ghana's group, Semenyo is under no illusions about the task at hand for his country to progress. This is the Black Stars' fourth World Cup finals they have qualified for with their first coming in 2006 when the forward was six years old.
Ghana head into the tournament as the lowest-ranked team but they can take inspiration from 12 years ago when they became just the third African side to reach the knockout stages. That ended in quarter-final heart-break when Asamoah Gyan missed a last-gasp penalty after Luis Suarez's infamous but iconic handball on the line.
For the outsiders, there is little expectation for Ghana to cause a big World Cup upset but Semenyo wants to make his country proud because he knows how passionate the support and celebrations will be throughout their tournament.
"The dream is to win, we always want to win. Getting to the Round of 16 or the final eight is definitely the target and I will try and get as many goals as I can. Football in Ghana is massive," he said.
"When we get an opportunity to be on the world stage like this the population are going to be supporting us. We’re doing it for them as well as ourselves. I’m happy they are supporting us and we’ll do the best we can."
Ghana's squad isn't full of star-studded names. Arsenal's Thomas Partey is the most notable but they have quality in Brighton's Tariq Lamptey, the Ayew brothers and Athletico Bilbao forward Inaki Williams.
It's the quality around him that fuels the extra motivation to be earning a starting role in Addo's plans. "We’ve got a lot of players who have played in the Premier League," Semenyo said.
"We have guys in the Ghana squad that have played in the Prem (Premier League). You can see where the quality is at and it makes you want to work harder when you’re with these players and the calibre of them. I want to be playing, I want to be involved. Hopefully, I have done enough to be in the starting line-up."
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