The wideman wasn't originally going to be included in Russia's squad, only for injuries to hand him a reprieve.
Seemingly angry at the intial snub, he has done everything possible to show his worth since, racking up four goals in five World Cup games.
The latest of those came on the biggest stage of all, with a place in the semi-finals against England up for grabs.
With 31 minutes of Saturday's quarter-final gone, Cheryshov picked the ball up on halfway before exchanging passes with man-mountain Artem Dzyuba.
Having found himself a yard of space, the 27-year-old proceeded to look up and curl a powerful but precise effort beyond Danijel Subasic and into the top corner to send his country into dreamland.
To put it into context, Cheryshev has never scored more than four league goals in a top-flight season, but he has now scored four in a little over three weeks at the World Cup.