Major international tournaments offer major opportunities - particularly for players who might not have been first choice for their countries but who suddenly get the chance to shine.
And one of those who has been grasping the opportunity with both hands at AFCON so far is host nation Morocco’s striker Ayoub El Kaabi.
The 32-year-old Olympiacos forward, who has only been starting because of an injury to first-choice striker Lille’s Hamza Igamane, made an explosive start in the opening game of the tournament with a stunning goal from an overhead kick in the win over Comoros.
One awesome bicycle kick goal in a major tournament is one more than most top strikers manage. Yet El Kaabi then went on to score another in the 50th minute of Morocco’s 3-0 win over Zambia. Initially given offside by referee Issa Sy, the goal was then awarded, leaving the striker swamped by his team mates, and shaking his head in disbelief at what he’d just done.
He’d already opened the scoring against Zambia with a ninth-minute header, and at time of writing is joint top scorer in the tournament with Riyad Mahrez (Algeria) and Moroccan team-mate Brahim Diaz.
El Kaabi left school at 15 to become a carpenter - and he’s certainly now carving out legendary status for himself with Moroccan football fans in a side strongly tipped to lift the trophy.
There is a verse in the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible’s Old Testament that comes to mind: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart …” (Ecclesiastes 3: 11a)
The skill and athleticism needed to successfully score an overhead kick are hard to enough to achieve in training, let alone in a top international tournament watched by millions. It feels like El Kaabi is very much seizing his opportunity at AFCON - and leaving fans with some beautiful moments to savour.
Click below to see his wonder strikes: