ENGLAND v Senegal at the World Cup in Qatar may seem as far removed from Tameside as you can get but part of the match has roots in the area.
For if it was not for Hyde United, Iliman Ndiaye may be nowhere near the big stage.
The Sheffield United star is one of the big threats for Gareth Southgate’s men as they go for a quarter final spot.
However, less than three years ago, he was getting the train from South Yorkshire to Ewen Fields during a loan spell.
And lessons from life in the Northern Premier League still ring true on the shiny stage of Qatar.
However, the man who gave Ndiaye his first ever senior match, then manager Dave McGurk, revealed how he showed his star qualities in his very first training session.
He said: “We were doing skill games, where the lads had to keep the ball off the ground. Iliman chipped the ball up, put it on his head and ran from one end of the pitch to the other!
“Players were in groups of five and the idea was to keep the ball up between them. He just chipped it up, put it on his head and ran.
“I had to change the rules, all five had to touch it from then. So four lads touched it, Iliman out it on his head and ran again!
“It was then we realised we had an absolute player on our hands. We’d watched him in three or four Under-23 games and while he was good, he was never outstanding.
“But after that first training session with us, he had the respect of every single player and member of staff. Some of the stuff he did was incredible.”
After doing it in training, Ndiaye did the business in his very first senior match, Hyde’s 3-0 win over Grantham in January 2020, which also saw now Northern Ireland international Paddy Lane come off the bench.
He left an impression on opponents he tormented, some of whom tried to leave their mark.
McGurk added: “Iliman was head and shoulders above again.
“Grantham had an experienced side and Joe Skarz was their left back. He came up to us and said, ‘Who the hell is that?’
“We replied, ‘He plays for Sheffield United.’ Joe went, ‘I’ve just taken the Under-14s job there. I’ll go back and tell them they’ve got an absolute player.’
“It was 3-0 and Grantham were all trying to kick Iliman. He was doing his flicks and tricks, nothing he doesn’t do now, but he was being targeted back then as they didn’t like it.
“But for all his talent, he’s as hard as nails.
“Iliman didn’t even have to come to Hyde and train but he wanted to. We were saying, ‘Look, it’s 9.30pm, the floodlights are going to be turned off. You’ve got to get off the pitch.’
“He’d be at Sheffield United the next day. He’d get a train from Sheffield to Hyde, one of the lads or myself would pick him up and drop him off.
“Some days I’d say, ‘It’s just going to be a quiet night, we’re just going to walk through a few things. Don’t worry about coming in,’ but he was like, ‘No, I want to.’
“He played nine games and was a catalyst for our form until the season was ended by Covid-19. That was a shame.
“However, he built an affiliation with the club in that short time, which is hard to do but everyone saw a kid who had unbelievable talent but didn’t look down on anyone, He wanted to be there.”
Ndiaye’s lessons from Ewen Fields may come in handy at the Al Bayt Stadium.
If the 22-year-old does haunt Southgate’s men with a goal, that can be traced back to the bus back from his final Tigers appearance before Covid-19 lockdown halted everything.
McGurk told The Correspondent: “You could see there were parts of his game that needed work, his end product and final decision making.
“We said, ‘If you want to get into the first team at Sheffield United, you need to put chances away.’
“We got beaten at Morpeth and he was down about things. He missed a few and we said in the kindest possible way, ‘You’re way above this level but you’re going to be judged on goals and assists.’
“He didn’t realise the end product is the most important part. He’d go past three or four players, out it wide and think, ‘I’ve done well there.’
“I don’t want to take any credit as Sheffield United have got him where he is but we’re proud of the small role we had in his development.”
McGurk is now out of football after leaving Hyde last tear and after being able to spend time with his family, he admits he may not get back in.
However, he insists his five years at Ewen Fields
“Since I was 16, I was involved in football and in that bubble but now having family and other priorities I want my weekends to myself, I want to go away when I want.
“I might get that passion back but I’m just enjoying family time. I’ve had a few offers over the past year but in all honesty, it’s just not worth my time.
“I don’t regret Hyde and heading down the M62 every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday but that was five years of family time I missed out on.”
And he will have two thing son his mind as he watches the big match, saying: “I hope England win 4-3 and Iliman gets a hat-trick.”