More or less at the same time as Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford was staking a late claim for a World Cup starting berth by dazzling in England's final warm-up game against Costa Rica on Thursday evening, approximately 1,500 miles south-west of Elland Road another highly-rated youngster was also putting himself into contention to star for his country in Russia.
Goncalo Guedes's smartly-taken double for Portugal in the 3-0 win over Algeria capped a good week for the Paris Saint-Germain winger in which he also starred in the draw with fancied Belgium. Although Selecao coach Fernando Santos is notoriously cautious when it comes to team selection, favouring trusted old heads over up and coming prospects, the 63-year-old could surely not help but have been impressed by the way in which Guedes has translated strong club form onto the international stage of late.
In many ways, the winger, who spent the season on loan at Valencia, has been the big winner from Portugal's three World Cup warm-up games alongside classy midfield anchor William Carvalho, with his direct running and intelligent movement adding an additional element to a Selecao attack that has long been overly reliant on Cristiano Ronaldo. But while the Carvalho's place in Santos' team for the opener against Iberian neighbours Spain is seemingly already nailed on, Guedes faces a four-way battle with regulars Ricardo Quaresma, Joao Mario and fellow starlet Gelson Martins for a wing spot in Portugal's normal 4-4-2 formation.
Despite helping loan club Valencia to a Champions League finish by virtue of directly contributing to 14 goals in La Liga, it wasn't so long ago that the 21-year-old would have found himself close to the bottom of the pecking order when it comes to selection. Yet with an ageing Portugal in dire need of some X-factor in the final third and Guedes comfortably the best on display in the build-up to Russia, Santos may well be forced to reevaluate his options as he seeks more urgency and dynamism.
With Cristiano Ronaldo now repackaged as a penalty box poacher, it's arguably now the case that Guedes' ability to beat players and carry the ball up the pitch with speed is only rivalled by Sporting's Martins in the current Portugal setup. While Martins may offer a similar skill-set, though, he has yet to match the ex-Benfica man's end product on the international stage, fluffing his lines on several occasions against Belgium last weekend. At this stage, only one of the two has the composure and maturity to fully capitalise on chances in Russia.
It remains to be seen if Santos is capable of throwing caution to the wind and discarding his favourites in Quaresma and Joao Mario, but Guedes getting the nod would undoubtedly cap a fine 12 months for a player who had at one point seemed destined to warm PSG's bench during the course of the 2017-18 campaign.
Now, with his loan spell at Valencia up and PSG well-stocked in forward areas, the World Cup offers the Benavente-born wide man the opportunity to showcase his talent on a wider stage and put himself in the shop window. At just 21, and with loads of development to go, it's not hard to see a good tournament in Russia resulting in interest from numerous top clubs around Europe.
2017-18 is just the start for Goncalo Guedes, it seems.
