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One Brother Plays For Spain, The Other For Ghana

November 25, 2022 10:45 IST

Their parents Maria and Felix are natives of Ghana, but decided to migrate and make their lives in the Bilbao region of Spain where their sons Inaki and Nico Williams were born.

Inaki and Nico were such good footballers that they were picked by Athletic Bilbao to play for the La Liga club.

But the brothers' international careers diverged this year. Inaki, the older by eight years, decided he would play for Ghana, where his parents were born. Nico, 20, said he would play for Spain where he was born.

On September 23, 2022, Inaki made his international debut for Ghana against Brazil. On September 24, Nico made his debut for Spain against Switzerland.

On Wednesday, November 23, on the biggest football stage of all, Spain's coach Luis Enrique fielded Nico in the second half as the Spaniards pummelled Costa Rica 7-0 at the FIFA World Cup 2022.

The next evening, November 24, Inaki took to the field as Ghana played Portugal. It was a thrilling game with five goals scored in the second half and Cristiano Ronaldo's team was lucky to escape with a 3-2 win.

As the players trooped off the ground, Inaki, who played the whole 98 minutes of the game, stood devastated, hands on hips, wondering what could well have been had Ghana scored in the dying moments of the match.

For the brothers Williams, there will surely be other moments to savour.

 

IMAGE: Ghana's Inaki Williams in action with Portugal's Diogo Costa and Ruben Dias. Photograph: Albert Gea/Reuters

 

IMAGE: A dejected Inaki Williams after the match. Photograph: Albert Gea/Reuters

 

FIFA WORLD CUP 2022

IMAGE: Spain's Gavi and Nico Williams in action with Costa Rica's Joel Campbell. Photograph: Marko Djurica/Reuters

 

IMAGE: Unlike his elder brother, Nico, 20, is a more colourful character. Photograph: Hannah Mckay/Reuters
 
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