FOXBOROUGH, United States (AFP) — Antoine Semenyo knows better than most what to expect from England at the World Cup, as the Ghana forward seeks to lead the Black Stars to a surprise win over the country of his birth.

The Manchester City winger could have a key role to play in Boston on Tuesday as Ghana try to reach the knockout phase for the first time since the team’s run to the 2010 quarter-finals.

Ghana needed a stoppage time winner to edge past Panama in their opener, and Semenyo is uniquely placed to understand the task ahead against England, who boast three City defenders — John Stones, Nico O’Reilly, and Marc Guehi — in their squad.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge,” said Semenyo. “I think everyone in the Ghana team is looking forward to it, and we want to prove a point. So I feel I’m just going to leave that message out there.”

Semenyo is appearing at his second World Cup, this time as an established Premier League goalscorer, but he came close to abandoning his dream of becoming a professional footballer.

Four years can transform a career in football, as Semenyo’s meteoric rise since Ghana’s group-stage exit in Qatar underscores.

Limited to just 19 minutes across two substitute appearances at the 2022 World Cup, he stepped up to the Premier League barely a month later after joining Bournemouth from Bristol City.

The 26-year-old has scarcely looked back. His startling progress masks a journey shaped by rejection that led Semenyo to consider a different career altogether.

After three years at Bournemouth, City triggered Semenyo’s release clause in January in a deal worth £65 million ($86 million), fending off competition from Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Tottenham.

Semenyo quickly endeared himself to City supporters, producing one of the great FA Cup final goals with an audacious back flick to secure a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Wembley.

There was a touch of irony in that moment: Semenyo was born just a stone’s throw from Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge home in west London.

Despite spending his entire life in England, Semenyo said there was no question about representing Ghana.

“My mum and dad are Ghana through [and through]. They never really mentioned anything about England,” he told FIFA.

“Obviously, living in England, you get the conversation of: ‘Oh, you should represent England.’ But it was never a conversation I ever had, really. Ghana came in when I was 19, 20, so I was never going to turn it down.”

Semenyo’s character and resilience were forged during his youth. After being rejected by Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace, and Millwall, he stepped away from the game for a year.

But football runs in his blood. His father Larry played alongside former Leeds striker Tony Yeboah in the Ghanaian top flight, while younger brother Jai is on the books of Ligue 1 club Lorient.

Semenyo was lured back to a youth academy programme in the south-west and eventually broke into the professional ranks, catching the attention of several clubs while studying sports science.

Keen to stay in the area, he chose Bristol City and signed his first contract just after turning 18.

Opportunities did not come easily. The club sent him out on multiple loan spells early in his career before he forced his way into the first team.

His Ghana debut followed in June 2022, and Semenyo eventually earned his move to the Premier League, blossoming into one of its most potent wingers under Andoni Iraola.

Pep Guardiola believes his best years are still to come.

Antoine Semenyo

“I think I’ve learned a lot from him [Guardiola],” Semenyo said after the Panama win. “He’s unbelievable, one of the best managers in the world, and I’m glad to say I worked with him for six months. He taught me a lot.”

Semenyo’s arrival at City underlined his reputation as one of the English game’s most fearsome attackers, but he has not forgotten all the effort it took to get where he is.

“It’s my mentality now. I have to be resilient. I have to work harder than the next person. I’ve always had that, my whole life. It gives me that extra grit, that extra bite,” Semenyo told Sky Sports last year.

Now, he is the man aiming to derail England’s World Cup campaign.

TUESDAY’S GAMES

Group K

12:00 pm — Portugal vs Uzbekistan

9:00 pm — Colombia vs DR Congo

Group L

3:00 pm — England vs Ghana

6:00 pm — Panama vs Croatia