Nico Williams has been lighting up Euro 2024 with Spain as one of the most exciting wingers in the competition - and if things had panned out differently, he could have been playing alongside his brother Inaki.
The two brothers are both key players for Atheltic Bilbao, but unfortunately for Spain, Inaki is a Ghana international. And they're not the only brothers to play for different countries.
At the 2014 World Cup, Jerome Boateng lined up for eventual champions Germany against his brother Kevin-Prince who was wearing a Ghana shirt, while Euro 2016 saw Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka locking horns against his elder brother Taulant for Albania, giving their mother perhaps the best excuse for a half-and-half shirt ever.
Just like both the Boatengs and the Xhakas, both Inaki and Nico Williams were born in the same country. Except one chose not to represent that nation…
Inaki Williams and Nico Williams: the story of why one plays for Ghana and the other Spain
The Williams brothers were both born in Spain after their parents travelled over from western Africa, crossing the Sahara desert in the process. When they finally reached Spain, an unidentified lawyer advised them to say they had travelled from Liberia, not Ghana, where they actually hailed from.
Inaki is the older Williams brother, born in 1994. After being a Spain under-21s regular, he was capped at senior level in a 2016 friendly and has also played twice for a Basque Country side that are not officially recognised by FIFA.
But while Inaki holds the record for the most La Liga appearances in a row at 251 games, he found himself snubbed by the Spanish national side for much of his Athletic Bilbao career.
Essentially, Spain never thought Inaki would take the call from Ghana, with the man himself even admitting, "I don't think it would be right to take the place of someone who really deserves to go and who feels Ghana 100%" – but when the Black Stars came calling ahead of the 2022 World Cup, the Spanish realised that lightning could strike twice.
Then-Spain boss Luis Enrique did not want to risk losing a second Williams brother to Ghana, so called Nico up for their Nations League fixtures in September 2022, despite the attacker only being 20 years of age. Since then he has become a key part of the Spain set-up, winning his 20th cap in their Euro 2024 semi-final against France.
There was a chance, of course, that they could have played together for Spain – and maybe La Roja will come to regret that, since Inaki was clearly keen to represent the country of his birth.
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