Tete Yengi spent years watching his brother and close friends from South Australia tick off dreams as he battled away in lower-level leagues.
Now, the uncapped striker determined to become the "ultimate player" is living the biggest dream of all in Australia's World Cup squad.
Yengi, 25, is the younger brother of fellow Socceroos striker Kusini, friends with Mohamed Toure and Nestory Irankunda, and has known Toure and his siblings since he was 12 and the Norwich striker was eight.
But unlike his fellow South Australians, he never played for Adelaide United or any youth national teams, instead spending time in the local NPL competition.
"Mo's even younger than me. Well, they're all almost younger than me," Yengi said on Monday (Tuesday AEST).
