Hot for club, cold for country: The Inaki Williams paradox

Days after he missed an absolute sitter for the Black Stars against Sudan in the 2025 Africa Cup Of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers at the Accra Sports Stadium, Inaki Williams was in supreme form for Athletic Bilbao against Espanyol in the Spanish La Liga, scoring a brace for his side in a 4-1 trouncing of Espanyol.

The win, a day before Atletico Madrid played, moved Bilbao into 4th position – but most importantly, Inaki’s performance took centre stage.

Inaki’s goals on the day – scored from inside the penalty box – were well-taken strikes, with the Ghanaian finding the far corner with his two goals.

The manner in which Inaki took the goals raised a few eyebrows back home, especially after coach of the Black Stars Otto Addo had emphatically stated that Ghanaians should move on from the past, referring to the players at his disposal not up to the required standards to play for the national team.

Inaki was basking in the sun in Bilbao as he wheeled away, full of ecstasy, celebrating his second and third La Liga goals of the season. Although Inaki came close to securing his first La Liga hat-trick, the third goal proved elusive as he ended the game, for the ninth time, with a brace in La Liga without walking home with the match ball.

It’s undeniable that Inaki is a true representation of Athletic Bilbao’s culture and heritage as he was born in the Basque region, who have a strict club policy of fielding local lads.

In February 2015, his journey into a club icon began when he scored his first-ever goal for Bilbao in their 2-2 Europa League draw against Torino, becoming the first black player to score for the club in 117 years.

His impact at Athletic Bilbao has been immense since then, scoring 80 league goals for the club. Inaki’s crowning moment for the club came at the end of the 2023-24 season when he contributed to the team’s first silverware in 40 years when they beat Mallorca in a penalty shootout.

The Copa Del Rey success consolidated his status as a club icon, but with the national team, the Spanish-born Ghanaian has struggled to find his feet since opting to play for the Black Stars in 2022.

Inaki has had a lot of lows while representing the Black Stars, including slipping at the 2022 World Cup when he sneaked in behind Portugal’s defence after an error from Portugal’s goalkeeper, as well as providing a back pass which Egypt capitalized on to punish the Black Stars at the 2022 AFCON. But against Sudan at the Accra Sports Stadium on October 10, the 30-year-old hit an all-time low.

Having an open goal to aim at with the clock winding down towards the end of the game, Inaki made a mess of his effort, completely miscuing his attempt at goal from inside the 18-yard box. The forward’s eyes lit up as the opportunity presented itself for him to score his first Ghana goal since November 2023 but he failed to make the most of it.

Four days later, Inaki got the ball in the back of the net in Ghana’s return game against Sudan in the 2025 AFCON qualifying series, only to see the linesman put up his flag to rule out his goal as the striker’s frustration lingered on.

The expectation among Ghanaians was for Inaki to translate his club form in September, where he became the first Bilbao player to assist three times in a game, to the national side – but he flattered to deceive.

Just as it had happened in the aftermath of the 2023 AFCON, where he scored and provided an assist right after the international break for Bilbao against Barcelona in the Copa Del Rey, Inaki’s performance after October’s international break was once again promising, as Bilbao dismantled Espanyol.

The magnitude in which he took his goals highlighted a player brimming with confidence, rather than the jittery-w0dden feet player who appears on national duty for Ghana.

His performance for his club is in stark contrast to the performances churned out in his 17 caps for Ghana. A more consistent Inaki, or even half the player he is at Bilbao, will do Ghana’s national team a world of good.

Source:3news.com