Five years ago today, Curtis Anderson helped England to Under-17s World Cup glory in a thrilling 5-2 victory over Spain in front of over 66,000 fans in Kolkata, India.
The goalkeeper, on the books of Manchester City since the age of 11, was Steve Cooper's trusted No.1 throughout the tournament, with his education at City meaning he was the perfect fit for Cooper's style of play.
England blew everyone away across 22 days in East Asia to lay down a marker; these players were well and truly here to stay.
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Some have gone on to become household names. Phil Foden is a multiple Premier League winner with Manchester City, while Jadon Sancho secured a big-money move to Manchester United last year.
Despite all of that, Curtis Anderson's story could be the most interesting of all.
October 17, 2017. England's 0-0 draw with Japan has gone to penalties after a goalless 120 minutes. The usual suspects have stepped up. Attackers Rhian Brewster, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Foden all converted with ease. Japan scored their first two spot-kicks before Anderson saved Hinata Kida's effort by diving to his right. Few will have predicted what was to come next. Anderson immediately shot up and took the ball to take a penalty of his own.
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"As soon as the game finished, there was a question of who wants to take a penalty," Anderson tells SPORTbible over the phone. "So I just obviously put my hand up to take one straightaway. I kind of knew in the back of my head that if we got there, I'd be willing to take one. So I said yes. And then obviously, he [Cooper] was happy for me to take one. So that's that."
Anderson had an air of confidence about him as he stepped up to the spot against Japanese counterpart Kosei Tani. He fired home to make it match-point for England. Nya Kirby scored the winner to ensure passage for England, who won the tournament for the first time in their history. It catapulted a number of the players into the public eye. Not Anderson, though. He went about his business at City for two more years before deciding it was time for a change of scenery.
Anderson received an offer from Charlotte Independence out in the USA in 2019. City had four academy goalkeepers in their ranks at the time, one of who was Arijanet Muric, who played five games for the first team before joining Burnley in the summer.
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Moving to the United States is a gamble for any professional player. For a teenager? It's life-changing.
"Looking back, it was an amazing life experience," Anderson revealed. "It came about because I wanted to get games, I wanted to play games. I don't think it was on the cards for me to go on loan from Man City, the offer came for me to be number one so I decided to go there.
"I don't know if I'd change anything because it all helped build me as a person and who I am right now. However, it didn't work out so I guess in hindsight you don't know what's going to happen."
Jim McGuinness was Charlotte Independence head coach at the time, putting his faith in Anderson. It looked to be a move perfect for all parties. That swiftly changed when McGuinness left in June 2019 after a run of one win in 14 games.
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His sacking that day effectively ended two careers with the USL Championship outfit. His own, plus Anderson's. The pair worked together for just 85 days.
"When he [McGuinness] got sacked, it was a new manager and I think it was it was kind of nothing more than that, really," Anderson says. "It was a case of the other goalkeeper being more experienced. He was about 10 years older than I was and had played a lot more games than I had. When the new manager came in he wanted to go with experience. It was nothing on me, in my opinion, it was out of my control."
While Anderson was Stateside, he watched former teammate Foden thrive back at the Etihad Stadium. Now a fully-fledged international and a vital part of Pep Guardiola's attack with 11 major honours to his name, it's easy to forget he's just a normal, laid-back lad from Stockport. That's something Anderson always sees when he's on the pitch.
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With a hint of laughter in his voice, the 22-year-old remarks: "He was always the best player in my opinion. He was always so tricky and had a good first touch. As we can see now, I think the way he plays has stayed the same all the way through.
"It was always a case of what you saw in him when he was younger, was going to be good enough. It was about how good he was going to be. He's gone on to maximise everything and I think he can go on to get even better."
It's no surprise a team of youngsters that had achieved history, were fuelled with such confidence at an early age.
Anderson eventually moved back to England with Wycombe Wanderers, but he never played a league game for the Chairboys. He spent a period on loan with Walton Casuals and Eastbourne Borough before being released by Wycombe in January. He sealed a move to Lancaster City in January, where he still plays right now on a semi-pro basis. They train twice a week in the evenings, which allows Anderson to pursue his other passion, as a financial adviser.
As the conversation comes to a close, Anderson says: "When I left Wycombe in January, I just wanted to experience it because that's what I'm interested in outside of football, and a family friend owns a financial advisory firm.
"I just went and asked about me going in there for a bit of experience of how they do in real life with money.
"I went in, enjoyed it and, long story short, he offered me a job. It works hand in hand with my football, so I took it and I've been enjoying it, to be honest."
Topics: England
Daniel Marland