Just over three years since he left the country's fourth tier behind, Gabriel Martinelli is heading to the World Cup as one of Brazil's brightest hopes this month following a rapid rise in the Premier League.
While his countrymen were contesting the last tournament in Russia four years ago - where they were eventually dumped out in the quarter-final by Belgium - Martinelli was busy plying his trade as a 17-year-old prospect for Sao Paulo club Ituano, who operated in Brazil's Serie D at the time.
It speaks volumes about the Guarulhos boy's astonishing ascent, then, that a mere 40 months after swapping Ituano for Arsenal and the riches of the Premier League he is now set to pull on the famous Selecao shirt on the grandest of stages.