Adam Wharton: From Kids Cup to Wembley FA Cup semi-final

On social media there exists a video showing a 10-year-old on the Wembley pitch producing a wonderful piece of skill with a Diego Maradona-esque spin before sending a cross into the area.

The child was Adam Wharton, making his debut on the hallowed turf, external while playing for Salesbury Church of England Primary School in the Kids Cup final of 2015.

A decade later the midfielder – now 21 – returns to Wembley as a Crystal Palace player, looking to help the Eagles beat Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday (17:15 BST) and move them a step closer to winning a first major trophy.

“It was unbelievable,” Wharton told the BBC’s Football Focus about his first taste of playing at Wembley.

“It was before the 2015 Championship play-off final – Middlesbrough v Norwich. It was box-to-box.

“It was an unbelievable feeling – it was 0-0 and we won on penalties.”

Ten-year-old Wharton took one of those spot-kicks, a cool finish beyond the goalkeeper, and no doubt he will provide Palace with a calm head should he be needed for penalty duty again on Saturday.

While Palace are yet to win the FA Cup this will be their seventh appearance in the semi-finals of the competition.

But they face a tough test against a Villa side in decent form, having won 10 of their past 12 games.

“I am excited,” Wharton added.

“It is a great opportunity to perform and have a chance to play for a trophy. We know it’s going to be a tough game though.

“We believe we can [win] if we turn up and play how we know we can. Everyone is confident at the minute.

“But we can’t lower our standards because teams will punish us.”

You can watch the FA Cup semi-final between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa on BBC One, iPlayer and online on Saturday, 26 April (17:15).