Marcos Senesi found himself in a very rare position ahead of Wednesday's 'Finalisima' between Argentina and Italy: both sides wanted him to play for them at Wembley.
The uncapped Feyenoord defender was not only included in Lionel Scaloni's squad for the match between the champions of South American and Europe.
He was also approached by Italy boss Roberto Mancini about becoming the nation's latest Oriundi, following in the footsteps of the likes of Omar Sivori, Humberto Maschio and, more recently, 2006 World Cup winner Mauro Camoranesi in choosing to represent the Azzurri over his country of birth.
To Argentina's relief, however, Senesi picked the 'Scaloneta'.
The decision was perhaps made easier by the fact that while the Albiceleste are on a high after winning last year's Copa America and qualifying with ease for Qatar 2022, setting a new team record for unbeaten games in the process, Italy are still coming to terms with their failure to qualify for a second consecutive World Cup.
Senesi, though, insists that his loyalty to his homeland was never in doubt.
“It's really great for two national teams to want you, I'm delighted because it means I'm doing well,” the 25-year-old, who holds an Italian passport through his family ties to the country, explained to Ole.
“The Italy thing was real. I was in contact with Mancini, who told me about his project.
"But I also spoke with the Argentina coaching team and, in that talk, I let them know how much I wanted to play for my country. The decision is absolutely final.
“When I got the calls, I sat down with my family and listened to them, but the reality is that I have always dreamed about playing with Argentina, since I was a kid.
"For the last year I have been going to bed thinking about getting my chance.”
It is not hard to see why both Mancini and Scaloni were in the hunt for the centre-back.
A graduate of San Lorenzo's academy, whom he joined at the age of 12, moving down from his hometown of Concordia, Senesi made his first-team debut in 2016 and quickly established himself in the Buenos Aires side's starting XI.
Three years later, Feyenoord signed him for €7 million (£6m/$7.5m) and the Eredivisie has proven extremely beneficial to Senesi's development, just as it has for fellow defenders Nicolas Tagliafico and Lisandro Martinez, the Ajax duo who have also broken into the Argentina squad on the back of their performances in Netherlands.
Calls for Senesi to join his compatriots in the national team had been building anyway, as he slotted effortlessly into Feyenoord's back-line, but they reached a crescendo in 2021-22 due to his consistently strong performances.
He missed just two of the club's 34 league games as they secured a Europa League spot next season via a third-placed finish, while with just 34 goals conceded, Feyenoord's defence was the second-best in the division behind Ajax.
It was the new UEFA Conference League, though, which gave Senesi his biggest chance to shine, as Feyenoord battled their way all through to the final, where they were narrowly and unluckily beaten 1-0 by Roma.
The Argentine had, coincidentally, been linked with Jose Mourinho's side the previous summer as a possible replacement for the injured Chris Smalling and is bound to attract even more interest after Wednesday's clash at Wembley, with Sevilla, Napoli and new Serie A champions already listed as potential suitors this summer.
Getty/GOALSenesi joins up with a settled Argentina team in high spirits and led both on and off the field by Lionel Messi, who is preparing for the first steps of a six-month final sprint that will culminate in what will most likely be his final crack at World Cup glory later this year.
If there is one concern hanging over this well-oiled Albiceleste machine, as Kylian Mbappe rather clumsily expressed recently, it is that they have had few tests against top European opposition, as the pandemic and changes to the UEFA calendar practically eliminated friendly matches between the two continents these past two years.
A clash with Germany back in 2019 was the last time Argentina took on one of their rivals from across the Atlantic Ocean.
Italy may have missed out on the World Cup due to a shock defeat to North Macedonia, but they remain European champions and will be a valuable benchmark with regards to just how far this team has progressed since their shambolic campaign at Russia 2018 under Scaloni's predecessor Jorge Sampaoli.
For players like Senesi, meanwhile, this match represents a golden chance to show the Argentina squad what he is capable of.
Cristian Romero and Nicolas Otamendi remain the nation's first-choice defensive duo, followed by the likes of German Pezzella, Lisandro Martinez and Lucas Martinez Quarta.
But there is still plenty of time for a new face to push itself into contention from here until the action kicks off in November.
And if the Feyenoord man can bring his club form over to the national team, Scaloni will have a hard time indeed ignoring his claim for a seat on the plane to Qatar.