Jordan Ayew struck his maiden international hat-trick for Ghana on Monday, taking advantage of an early injury to Abdul Majeed Waris to push his claims to coach Kwesi Appiah for a starting berth against the United States on June 16.
With Ghana having developed a reputation as team that lacked genuine goalscorers, Ayew may have timed his run perfectly.
Four years on and seemingly little had changed before Monday's 4-0 thrashing of South Korea.
Appiah's team had looked set to start Brazil 2014 having scored more than two goals in a match just once in the past 12 months, while Gyan had hit the back of the net five times in that period.
But after Waris was forced off in the sixth minute at Sun Life Stadium, following a tough tackle from South Korea's Ki Sung-yueng, Ayew stepped onto the pitch and strengthened his case to start against the USA in Group G.
"We have a crop of talented players coming through but I think Jordan Ayew will have a fine tournament," Ghana midfielder Sulley Muntari told GhanaSoccernet after the match.
"I expect him to be a revelation at the World Cup. Fans must be patient with him because he's one of our future stars.
"He just needs to keep calm and focus and I tell you the world will truly see his potential. He will surprise the world."
But against South Korea, Ayew seemed full of confidence and opened the scoring in the 11th minute when he took his brother Andre's cutback and thrashed his shot past Jung Sung-ryong thanks to a deflection.
After Gyan made it 2-0 just before half-time, Ayew extended Ghana's lead further with a strike from outside the box, while he completed his hat-trick in the 89th minute with a volley from Afriyie Acquah's cross.
"The game was the perfect game the Black Stars needed," said Ayew's eldest brother Rahim, who is not in Ghana's squad.
"I was really impressed with the maturity of Jordan and I felt he linked up well with Asamoah Gyan.
"They played well and looked very dangerous whenever they had the ball, a good thing for Ghana going into the World Cup."
