GHENT, Belgium -- Kyle Edmund will join a select group of players, including John McEnroe and Pete Sampras, when he makes his competition singles debut in the Davis Cup final against Belgium on Friday.
British captain Leon Smith confirmed on Thursday that he had chosen the 20-year-old rookie from Yorkshire as his second singles player for the tie and he will face David Goffin in the opening rubber on Friday.
Edmund will be joined by Andy Murray -- who faces Ruben Bemelmans in the second rubber, also on Friday -- brother Jamie and James Ward in the four-man squad. Doubles-specialist Dom Inglot was the man left out from the five who travelled to Belgium.
The doubles rubber on Saturday will pit Andy and Jamie Murray against Steve Darcis and Kimmer Coppejans, with the reverse singles likely to decide the winners of the trophy on Sunday.
Given the players for each rubber do not have to be confirmed until an hour before play each day, there is always the possibility of changes.
Smith is likely to have included Ward, who had been expected to miss out if Edmund got the nod, to give him another option should the tie go to a decisive fifth rubber.
The relative weakness of Belgium's doubles pair in comparison to Britain's previous opponents may well have persuaded Smith that he did not need the insurance of Inglot.
The Londoner has been in the team for all three previous ties this season but only played in the first-round match against USA.
Only six other men have previously made their singles debuts in the competition's final, with Henri Leconte also among them.
The list of those to have been victorious on a first appearance is even shorter, with McEnroe the only player to have won on his singles debut -- against Britain's John Lloyd in the 1978 final in California.
That could change on Friday if Edmund, ranked world No.100, gets the better of Goffin, who is Belgium's best player and 84 places higher on the tennis ladder.
With Britain making a first appearance in the final since 1978, and seeking a first victory since 1936, there is a possibility that Edmund could be called upon on Sunday to play a decisive fifth rubber.
That would probably be against Darcis, best known for his victory over Rafael Nadal in the first round of the 2013 Wimbledon Championships.
Press Association Sport contributed to this report.