At this time in the year, most 16-year-olds will be beginning to feel the nerves as their all-important GCSE exams move ever closer.
However, during the international break, Amin Nabizada was left feeling this way for another reason, with the Hornets teenager receiving a first call-up to the Afghanistan national team.
“Richard Johnson called me in and asked me how I would feel if I could go to my national team, and I said I would of course be very happy,” Nabizada told watfordfc.com.
“Then he told me they had invited me to their training camp in Saudi Arabia ahead of their World Cup qualifiers.
“It was quite overwhelming, I didn't know what to say as lots of emotions were going through me.”
Despite his age, a bit of family encouragement saw him accept the invitation, with the youngster saying: “My family were delighted, very proud and really happy for me.
“I was a bit nervous on the first day. But as time went on I grew into it and the rest of the squad really helped me settle in.
“I was there for nine days and training was really good. It was a good intensity, a really good standard. The boys really demanded a lot from each other which helped raise the standard as well.”
Nabizada was the only teenager in the squad, and turned to a familiar face for some advice on what to expect.
“I spoke to Clevs [Tom Cleverley] before I went and he told me it would be a high level,” he said.
The training camp turned out to be an invaluable learning experience for the forward, who quickly figured out he had to adapt his game.
“I learnt quickly that I couldn't take too many touches on the ball compared to what I can do here in training and games,” he said.
“With the national team it was all touch and move so you always have to be switched on, especially with my age and my size.”
Nabizada was also involved in his first international matchday, travelling with the team for their goalless World Cup qualifier with India, played in Saudi Arabia.
Going forward, Nabizada, who was named on the first-team bench for the FA Cup replay with Southampton in February, hopes for further opportunities to be able to learn more with the side.
“It was quite an overwhelming experience with it being my first time being called up,” he said.
“I spoke with the gaffer there as well and hopefully there will be more opportunities in the future and I'm looking forward to it.”
