Spain’s Nico Williams wants to bring their rivalry with their older brother to the biggest stage of all. They are teammates at Athletic Bilbao and very close, but Nico, who is 20 years old, is hoping to meet them at the World Cup in Qatar.
In September, they both scored in the same Athletic match for the first time, and they may face off in the quarterfinals. After Jerome and Kevin-Prince Boateng, who played for Germany in 2010 and Ghana in 2014, the Williams brothers would be the second set of siblings to play against each other at a World Cup.
Nico told AFP in an interview at Spain’s training facility in Doha, the University of Qatar, that “above all, I’d like to face Ghana.”
The brothers have a strong bond because their parents had to travel horrendous 4,000 kilometers from Ghana to Melilla, a Spanish enclave in north Africa.
They deemed it worthwhile to take the risk of traversing the scorching Sahara in part barefoot.
maria Williams was born in Bilbao in 1994 after their mother, Maria Williams, and father, Felix Williams, were granted asylum there.
He has remained there, along with Nico, who came eight years later, despite the younger Williams brother’s meteoric rise to prominence in the Spanish top flight this year.
Inaki, who was given a Spain cap in a friendly, decided to play for Ghana on the international stage in July. Nico got his first cap in September under coach Luis Enrique.
After that, Spain received a World Cup nod for their crucial assist against Portugal to advance to the Nations League semifinals.
Nico attributes his success at the highest level of football to his brother, who helped him become fearsome on the club’s right flank.
Nico replied, “Always,” when asked if Inaki had any advice for him.
“I’m very happy with his advice, and I enjoy playing more because of it,” I said. “An older brother must.”
Nico claims that, in the absence of Inaki, Sergio Busquets, a central figure at Barcelona, as well as other seasoned players like Dani Carvajal and Cesar Azpilicueta, assist him with Spain.
– Diverse paths: Nico considers Inaki’s decision to play for Ghana to be “a respectable decision.”
However, he was always determined to play for Spain, even if it happened sooner than he could have anticipated.
The call from Luis Enrique somewhat surprised me because I’m a young child and things have moved quickly, which surprised me.
Up until recently, it appeared unlikely that either Inaki or Nico would participate in this World Cup, let alone both, given that Inaki’s only appearance for Spain came in 2016. Nico is just beginning his professional career.
“This kind of circumstance rarely occurs in life, and my family is thrilled and proud to be here.
“They gave us everything, my brother and I suffered a lot, and they did it all for us, especially for me. Inaki had it a little worse than I did.