Yunus Musah was a product of Arsenal's academy and spent five years going through the FA's development system — with ambitions to play for England.
Ambition, however, led the midfielder to turn down the chance to persist with England and to him seeking a move away from Arsenal to join Valencia in order to play football at the highest level. On Friday, he will lock horns with some familiar faces.
Musah, now 19 and a key member of a young United States squad, knows Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham well but he has resisted the opportunity to renew acquaintances with them ahead of a crucial fixture in Group B.