Zharnel Hughes predicted fireworks in the 100m after reaching the semi-final at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
The European champion clocked 9.97 seconds at Hayward Field to finish second in his heat, behind favourite Fred Kerley.
He reached Saturday’s semi-final in Eugene as he targets the final in the evening but Great Britain team-mate Reece Prescod crashed out.
Hughes, who reached last year’s Olympic final only to false start, expects drama on Saturday after seven sprinters ran sub-10 seconds in the heats.
“It’s a really fast track. It’s really exciting. What excited me was when the F18s flew over the stadium, that got me gassed up,” said the 27-year-old, who qualified fifth fastest.
“Kerley ran 9.79 seconds, I think it’s the fastest ever in the heats. There were some good names in there but I’m not focusing on names, I’m not focusing on times. Put what happened in the season behind. What matters here matters.
“I said at trials I was OK, I just have to trust myself, trust my speed. My coach has been telling me ‘don’t worry about the start, just focus on what needs to be done, execute it and you’ll be OK.’
“I didn’t panic. Su (Bingtain) is a great starter, the other guys are great starters and I’ve never been the best starter in the world.”
Prescod ran 10.15 seconds to finish fourth in the fourth heat but was unable to clinch a qualifying spot in a surprise elimination.
Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala won his race against the clock to line up in heat seven. He suffered visa issues ahead of his trip to Oregon and only landed hours before his race and qualified third.
Defending champion, the USA’s Christian Coleman back after his ban for missing drugs tests, ran 10.08 seconds as he slowed down on the
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