Eberechi Eze's journey to the England squad has not been straightforward.
Turned down by four clubs before signing a professional deal with Queen's Park Rangers, the Crystal Palace midfielder has had to deal with rejection, doubters, loan deals and a major injury that kept him out of the game for a year.
All of that seems a world away from where he is now - in the England squad and likely to make his debut in one of the two European qualifiers in the coming days.
The 25-year-old has been in excellent form for Crystal Palace, in particular since Roy Hodgson returned to the club as manager for the last couple of months of the 2022-23 season, finishing as Palace's top scorer with 10 Premier League goals.