At the World Cup in November, Ghana will be led by Otto Addo. Addo was born in Germany, but chose to represent Ghana as a player, the nation of his parents' birth. Being eligible for multiple nations is very common, and it is a regular tactic for national sides to recruit dual nationals to play for them.
In 2010, Ghana persuaded Berlin-born Kevin-Prince Boateng to join them ahead of their World Cup campaign in South Africa. He went on to be one of the star performers in the team that was just a penalty shootout away from being the second ever African team to reach the semi-finals.
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| Kevin-Prince Boateng |
Now, they are taking advantage of FIFA's newly relaxed laws surrounding switching national allegiances. They have compiled a group of experienced men to help recruit Ghanaians abroad. Chief among this group are the manager, Addo, and Chris Hughton, former Irish international and ex-manager of English clubs Newcastle United and Brighton and Hove Albion.
Hughton was appointed as a technical advisor to the Ghana national team in early 2022, and soon after held conversations with multiple young English-Ghanaian players, including his former player Tariq Lamptey. Lamptey, an extremely quick right back at Brighton, has since pledged his allegiances to Ghana despite representing England at various youth levels.
Lamptey, however, was not the biggest name that Ghana has recruited lately. Athletic Bilbao's Inaki Williams has joined the Black Stars and will be a huge addition to the Ghanaian attack. Williams made one appearance for Spain in a 2016 friendly but hasn't played for them since. He is currently on an incredible streak of playing in 239 consecutive La Liga matches, a run extending more than six years. He has scored more than 70 goals in all competitions in his career for Bilbao and should lead the line in Qatar. Inaki's younger brother Nico was also approached by Ghana, but he has recently accepted a call-up to the Spanish national team.
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| Inaki Williams |
Ghana has also recruited a few German-eligible players to help their cause. Christopher Antwi-Adjei, a midfielder for Bochum, and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh of Freiburg in the Bundesliga, were each important players in Ghana's qualification. Stephan Ambrosius of Karlsruher, Patric Pfeiffer of Darmstadt, and Ransford Yeboah of Hamburger have all made themselves eligible for the Black Stars as well. Dennis Odoi, a Belgian-born defender who spent six years in England with Fulham, was also convinced to join Ghana.
Ghana could potentially add even more star power in the future, as Hughton has reportedly been in talks with Eddie Nketiah and Callum Hudson-Odoi. However, it doesn't look like either one was able to be convinced to join quite yet. Arsenal's Nketiah is England's all-time top scorer at the under-21 level, but has yet to be capped by the senior team. Hudson-Odoi broke onto the scene as a potential star for Chelsea in 2019 and has made three appearances for England. However, he has not quite lived up to the expectations he once had and has not played for England since. He has even turned down calls from the English under-21 side, leading to speculation that he could still be contemplating his international future.
