Samson Siasia lead Nigeria to the final of the Under-20 World Cup in 2005
The brightest young stars in African football will be on display at the Under-20 World Cup, which kicks off in Egypt on Thursday.
Some, like Ghana's Ransford Osei and Nigeria's Sone Aluko, are already well-known names.
Others will be hoping to make their mark in an event which has, in the past, made global headlines for players like Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.
Thierry Henry, Michael Essien and Ronaldinho are amongst the other big names to have launched their international careers at this level.
Hosts Egypt, African Youth Champions Ghana plus Cameroon, Nigeria and South Africa are the continent's representatives - but they will be up against some tough opposition.
Cameroon, for instance, share Group C with Germany, USA and South Korea - a truly tough proposition.
The coach of the Cameroon team hopes that his team are ready for the tournament as they arrived in Egypt more than a week ago.
"On the one hand, it's helped us acclimatize to conditions very different from those back home right now, and on the other I wanted to lead my players into the thick of things step by step," he said.
Ghana, in Group D, must get past Uruguay, England and Uzbekistan - who beat both China and South Korea en route to qualifying.
The entire nation expects us to do well
Egypt coach Miroslav Soukup
An African nations has never won the Under-20 World Cup, even though Ghana and Nigeria have both been to the final twice.
That is remarkable, given the continent's excellent record at under-17 level.
And with perennial champions Argentina missing this time, many will feel it is Africa's time to deliver.
At least there is plenty of experience on the coaching front.
Nigeria's boss Samson Siasia led the Flying Eagles to second-place in the Netherlands in 2005.
And Egypt coach Miroslav Soukup performed the same feat with his native Czech Republic two years ago but knows his team will be under pressure.
"The entire nation expects us to do well," he said.
Hany Ramzi, the former defender who made 124 international appearances for Egypt, will assist Soukup on one of the few squads without European-based players, with pressure firmly on Al Ahly striker Mohamed Talaat to deliver.
"We called up several professionals from Italy, Austria, Denmark and other countries - but they were no better than the local players," Ramzi said.
"We mustn't forget that the national team have succeeded in winning the African Cup of Nations twice with local players."
But there are 24 teams in action over the coming weeks, ranging from everybody's favourite Brazil to tiny Tahiti.
At the start of a year which sees Africa host three global football tournaments, culminating in the World Cup in South Africa 2010, there is plenty of work yet to be done if the continent is to make it's mark.
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