At just 21 years of age, Ethan Ampadu is well on track to make history.
Only seven outfield players in Wales' squad have more than the Chelsea youngster's tally of 33 caps for his country, such is the experience he has gained on the international stage since making his debut under Chris Coleman against France just shy of five years ago. Fresh from a loan stint at Venezia where his versatility was greater than ever, Ampadu is back in the red of Wales as Rob Page's men bid to make history by defeating Ukraine to book their place at the World Cup in Qatar.
A glance at Ampadu's CV shows two relegations and struggles for regular game-time at RB Leipzig, but the experiences have only served to strengthen the player's mindset while also ensuring he has been able to cope with adversity from a very young age.
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“Ups and downs like every season," he said of his time in Italy. "I have learnt a lot. The experience was to go there and learn a lot, which I felt like I did.
"Overall without it being a negative result as a team which affects me as well, maybe some of the performances I can take as positives. I played a lot of football which is the reason I went out there. Some positive performances and a lot to take from it. Every loan has its different challenges but maybe this is the most positive one.
"If you look at the games, I have had an injury-free season which is a big positive getting into the rhythm of things and when you are playing you are learning as well, so maybe you could say that [best season in his career so far]."
Ampadu is expected to continue in a right centre-back role against Ukraine. It comes after he was largely deployed in midfield next to Joe Allen in the early days of his international career.
But following a year in what is notoriously a defensive-minded country, Ampadu believes he can apply plenty of knowledge gained from his Venice venture on to the big stage with Wales.
When asked how much he learned in the home of the reigning Euro 2020 champions, Ampadu said: "A lot. Everyone speaks about the defensive side and tactics side and there is that. Obviously every league everyone focuses on defending and tactics but the way they maybe go about it is a little bit different which helps being a defender player. I learned a lot from it."
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Players have already addressed the 'us against the world' expectation that awaits Wales when they host Ukraine. Oleksandr Petrakov's side produced a fine display to beat Scotland 3-1 at Hampden Park on Wednesday night to give the nation a huge lift amid what is a devastating period owing to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"We all understand and know the situation," admits Ampadu. "All our thoughts and prayers go to them and people associated with Ukraine. But when the game comes on Sunday them as much as us are going to focus on it as a game of football. Both teams have to make sure that we are prepared well."
Page's side are bidding to end a 64-year wait to reach a World Cup, with painful failures in 1977, 1985, 1993 and 2017 still looming large as the class of 2022 aim to go one step better this time around. Ampadu has fond memories of the competition as a fan, although his recollections of the tournament will swiftly prompt double takes.
On his first World Cup memories, Ampadu said: "2010. The Jabulani ball that moved everywhere. That was the first time the ball started moving.
"I don’t remember it [2006 tournament] when I was six. So 2010! The first game and first goal was pretty good so that gave a good feeling for the rest of the tournament. Especially because the home country [South Africa] scored it. Even now sometimes on YouTube, you watch five to 10 minutes of highlights of World Cups and it excites you so we will probably use that in the games as well for Sunday."
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So to the discussion of caps, and Ampadu will edge past a third of the way to a century should he feature against Ukraine, an astonishing achievement for a man so young. Indeed, he is already joint-77th on the list of all-time appearance makers for Wales, ahead of stars including Coleman, the man who gave him his first cap, Mel Charles and Roy Vernon.
You'd be a brave person to bet against Ampadu joining Chris Gunter, Wayne Hennessey, Gareth Bale, Helen Ward, Jess Fishlock, Sophie Ingle and Loren Dykes in the 100 club. But the short-term aim is to ensure cap number 34 goes down in the record books as the one that saw Ampadu help fire his country to a World Cup for only the second time in their history.
