Sam Tillen has gone from turning out for England's youth sides alongside Wayne Rooney to helping shape the future of Icelandic football.
Monday's last-16 clash between the founders of the game and smallest nation ever to play at a major championship will be a special occasion for a player that has taken the path less trodden.
Chelsea academy graduate Tillen represented his country up to Under-19s level and was an international team-mate of Rooney for a time.
While one captains his country at Euro 2016 on Monday, the other will be cheering on his compatriot from Iceland after moving to the tiny Nordic island in 2008 when his time at Brentford came to an end.
"I played with an Icelandic guy there called Oli Skulason," Tillen told Press Association Sport.
"I played with him there and my contract was mutually terminated -- a polite way of saying they didn't want me any more at Brentford.
"I wanted to try something different. Initially that wasn't what I was thinking, but then I had the opportunity to come here to Iceland and I came to a team called Fram."
Tillen has never looked back and eight years on is back at Fram on loan from FH, while off the field he has settled down with an Icelandic girl and mastered the island's mother tongue.
The former Chelsea player is also passing on his knowledge to Iceland's young players as he coaches in facilities that would make many in England envious.
The construction of all-weather pitches, both indoors and out, as part of a national investment plan started 15 years ago has enabled youth level training to continue through the freezing winter months.
The first generation of so-called "indoor kids" are now shining in France, having pipped Portugal to second place in Group F and set up a historic match against England on Monday.
"It used to be that they played handball in the winter and football in the summer, but these indoors facilities changed everything," said Tillen, whose brother Joe also played in Iceland and now teaches in Woking.
"Now you're getting significantly better technical players and obviously that increases the level of the team. This is probably one of the first generations of those players.
"More children are getting access to four or five training sessions a week and they're going to increase their technical ability. I think it's only going to improve."
Tillen has long been impressed by the tiny country's "unbelievable" production line, making the Icelandic league impressively competitive.
The 31-year-old has played on the same pitch as a number of the current squad, making him more wary than most about the threat posed by his adopted homeland.
"I am hoping, praying in fact, for an England win otherwise I'm going to be on the end of a lot of jokes and jibes," Tillen said with a laugh.
"England have a real difficulty in breaking down teams and Iceland are very difficult to play against. Their work rate is unbelievable.
"They have Gylfi Sigurdsson's free kicks -- a lad who used to play with him in the Under-21s said they were almost like penalties for him outside the box from 25 yards.
"That can punish a foul on the outside of the box and then you've got the long throws of Aron Gunnarsson.
"It's going to be a very difficult game for us. An early goal might change things a little bit and they have to eventually sort of open up, which is maybe when we can punish them a little bit. It's certainly not going to be easy.
"It's a dream tie for Icelandic people because they love English football. It's so popular here.
"They're avid fans. It's almost like being in England, every person has an English team that they follow.
"It is like the dream tie for them and obviously it'll not only be historic but unbelievable if they beat England."
Tillen reckons Iceland's achievements in France are already up there with the men's handball silver medal at the 2008 Olympics and believes there is more to come over the coming years.
"It definitely opens your eyes to different ways of doing things," he added.
"Obviously if you just stay in the same place and do the same things, it's just stagnation, really, isn't it?
"But if you come to a country like this and see what they're doing with such a small population -- what is it, the size of Leicester? -- and the fact they are competing at this level and others.
"Their younger age groups are qualifying for the European Championships, too.
"It's quite remarkable for such a small population."