Looking at the Ghana squad for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Korea 2007, one name sticks out: Kelvin Bossman's. The 16-year-old is the only Ghanaian to be based outside of his homeland, as he his learning his trade with English Premiership side Reading.
Bossman, who was born in Ghana, moved to the United Kingdom at the age of nine and after impressing for his primary school and Sunday league side, was picked up by the Royals in 2002 and has remained with them ever since.
FIFA.com caught up with the big forward 24 hours ahead of the Black Starlets final appearance in Korea 2007 in the match for third place against Germany.
FIFA.com: Kelvin, obviously the defeat to Spain is still fresh in your mind. How are you feeling? Kelvin Bossman: I'm not hurting - I thought it was an amazing game. Bojan is such a great player and I wasn't surprised that he was the difference between us. I watched him against France and I was so impressed with his intelligence and movement. When he gets the ball he's always a threat: he's tricky, he's got a powerful shot and I think he'll go far. The awareness he showed for the matchwinning goal was absolutely fantastic.
How do you feel about Sunday's game? Picking up a bronze medal would be superb for us. Not many people expected us to get this far in the tournament. But we've worked hard as a team; got some good results and we are desperate to finish on a high. We're up against Germany, who beat us 3-2 in our second game, so we want to get revenge. And I'm confident that we can beat them and get the third place finish that we all want.
You managed to score against Trinidad and Tobago. Can you describe the feeling when you saw the ball hit the back of the net? Scoring in a World Cup is an experience I'll never forget. I came on as a sub without 15 minutes to go and I scored after ten minutes of being brought on. The feeling was great, absolutely amazing - and I'd love to get another goal against Germany. If I get the chance to start, I honestly believe that I will score. The coach has preferred to use me from the bench, but I'd love to play.
Sellas Tetteh has been a great personality at this tournament. What do you think of him? He's great. He knows his job and he knows how to handle young players. He's brought a great sense of discipline to this side. He's very strict with the rules, he wants everything done his way - but all this has been done for the good of the team. That said, he knows how to have a laugh and we love him to bits. And we're all desperate to impress him because he's the senior coach for the national team!
You're the only member of the Ghana team to be playing in England, so how did the call-up to the Black Starlets come about? I was playing for Reading against Chelsea. We actually were beaten in the match, but afterwards I was approached by an agent, who asked me if I would consider playing for Ghana. It was a great opportunity for me, so I decided to take it. So, I went over to Accra for a trial while the team were preparing for Cup of Nations qualifiers and the coach told me that I was good enough to join the squad.
Do you think any of these boys could play alongside you in England? I really believe that the majority of this club could make it in the Premiership. They'd certainly be able to play for an Academy side. If you look at the results we've had since coming here, we've beaten some of the best teams in the world - and we're guaranteed at least a top four finish. I think that's a really good indication of the calibre of players in our squad.
When I'm in training I compare them to how some of the boys play alongside me at club level - and the standard is very, very similar. They have a lot of pace, they have a physical presence and many could cope with the move. I also think that if they have the opportunity to play for a Premiership side they should grab it with both hands. Football in England is extremely competitive and it pushes you. The lads in the squad would revel in that environment.
Credit: FIFA