The fairy tale has one more chapter to be played out, but the book had no right to be written.
That is of course if Kieffer Moore accepted his fate that a career in the game was going to remain a pipe dream. But that was never going to happen.
The former lifeguard toiled incessantly to swat aside every obstacle in his way, making numerous sacrifices along the way to give himself the very best chance of achieving his goals.
Fast forward to the summer of 2022, and the 29-year-old is chasing what would have previously been an unimaginable hat-trick. Moore has already helped Bournemouth gain promotion into the Premier League.
Having done the business with the Cherries, Moore then got engaged to girlfriend Charlotte Russell in Dubai to cap off a remarkable month. But he could reach the grandest stage of them all very soon if he can help fire his country to a first World Cup since 1958.
"Things are going well," beamed Moore ahead of Wales' five June fixtures. "It would mean everything. Playing at a World Cup is the pinnacle of football. If I could do that in the same year as playing in the Premier League then it’s an amazing achievement. It would be a pinch myself moment.
"I scored a goal to help take Bournemouth back into the Premier League and I’m definitely dreaming of scoring the winner to take Wales to the World Cup. I’m very, very lucky to be able to play in this game.
"I got injured for the first one, when unforeseen things happened, but thankfully I’ve now got the chance to play my part. I’m very happy about that. Scoring the goal that takes your nation to the World Cup is what everyone is dreaming of."
Moore's dreams were far from a reality just a few years ago when he was slugging it out in non league football. But such was his determination to become a professional, the striker made the bold leap to play in Norway before returning to England.
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"For me, the polar opposite [to current success] was coming back from Norway," he explained. "I had a stint in Norway playing for Viking and then I came back to sign for Forest Green Rovers.
"Before that point of returning, I was thinking, ‘I don’t really know where I go from here.’ I knew I had to go to a team where I had to shine. For me, personally, going away and not experiencing great times and being away from my family, it re-lit the fire in my belly that I wanted to get everything out of football.
"I’ve always had that faith and confidence in myself to get where I am today. I felt I had a chance in the EFL, then played in the Championship, played in League One and then I went to Norway and found myself out of the Football League. At that point I felt I still had a chance, albeit a second chance, but I was determined that if I did get a second chance I wouldn’t let it slip like I did the first time."
Talent is undoubtedly a necessity for players in the professional game, but sheer determination doesn't half help. Moore is testament to that, and his own upturn in fortunes offers hope to so many others.
"The main thing is to believe in what you are doing," he said. "For me, it was all about work ethic. If you have an undying work ethic and a drive to know where you are going, then that is the main thing.
"You have to give everything for what you want and be prepared not to take no for an answer."
Having been sidelined for almost three months with a foot injury - an issue that ruled him out of Wales' 2-1 play-off semi-final win over Austria - Moore is now playing catch-up. Talisman Gareth Bale and Daniel James spearheaded Wales' attack for that memorable triumph over the Austrians, and Moore now faces yet another test to win his place back.
"I’m under no illusions about that. To be honest, I haven’t really played a lot of football anywhere lately," he admitted. "We have the Poland game coming up on the first of June, then the big one on June fifth.
"If I can get some minutes in the first game to give me that bit more in the tank, I think that would be put me in great stead for the fifth."
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Adversity is something Moore knows plenty about, but his time on the treatment table was spent wisely to ensure he could come back firing on all cylinders. "Physically and mentally, having the break has left me in a good place," he said.
"I have played nowhere near as much football this season as I wanted to, due to the injury, so it was a tough road getting back with all the rehab and everything I had to overcome. But with the last four games, everyone could see how much it meant to me to be playing football again and back out there."
Indeed, the frontman's impact in the final stages of the 2021/22 Championship season was astonishing. Moore scored twice after being summoned from the bench to make what was only his second Bournemouth appearance at Swansea City following his injury little more than two-and-a-half months earlier.
He then bagged a late winner for the Cherries against promotion rivals Nottingham Forest before scoring the only goal of the game as Scott Parker's men defeated Millwall on the final day of the campaign. All four of Moore's appearances for Bournemouth to date have come as a substitute, with his total game time for the newly promoted club amounting to just 83 minutes since his January move from Cardiff City.
It means he averages a goal every 20.75 minutes for Bournemouth, and, in the short-term at least, Moore has been only too happy to hold the super sub tag.
"I knew that coming back from the injury I was not going to start games straight away," explained the forward. "But I knew I could make an impact in that team. It took a lot of hard work, physically, to get me to that point, but it felt fantastic."
Wales' Nations League clash with Poland will give Moore the chance to get more minutes under his belt, although there's no denying that a place in the starting 11 for the World Cup play-off final against Scotland or Ukraine at Cardiff City Stadium is the target.
But after a remarkable comeback following yet another tough test in his career, the Red Wall can rest assured that Kieffer Moore is a man who will give his all and more to ensure he can complete a hat-trick he never believed would have been possible.
