Inaki Williams has drawn a firm line under his international career with Ghana, ending a short but emotionally charged spell with the Black Stars that reconnected him with his roots and reshaped his identity on the world stage.
The 32-year-old Athletic Club forward announced his decision on social media, confirming he will no longer be available for Ghana after earning 28 caps and scoring two goals since his debut in September 2022.
“I feel the time has come to bring my journey with the Ghana national team to an end,” he wrote, signing off with a message steeped in pride rather than regret. “I leave happy, proud and with the peace of mind of knowing that I gave everything every time I wore this shirt.”
A late but intense international career
Williams arrived late to international football with Ghana but crammed plenty into a relatively brief spell.
He represented the Black Stars at two Fifa World Cups, in 2022 and 2026, and featured at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. At this year’s World Cup, he made two appearances as Ghana’s campaign ended in the last 32 with defeat to Colombia.
Those tournaments gave him the stage he had long hovered around without quite stepping onto at senior level. Born in Bilbao to Ghanaian parents, Williams came through the Spanish system, playing for Spain at youth level and making a senior appearance in a 2016 friendly. The competitive door to La Roja never fully opened, and when Ghana called, he chose the country of his parents and his childhood stories.
The decision brought him “much more than football,” as he put it. It brought him back to what he calls “home.”
“It has allowed me to come back home, feel even closer to my roots and experience the enormous pride of representing my country and wearing this flag on my chest,” he said.
Two brothers, two flags, two paths
The Williams family has lived out one of modern football’s most striking international split stories.
While Inaki chose Ghana, his younger brother Nico Williams committed to Spain. Nico, also at Athletic Club, has since become a star for La Roja, lifting both the World Cup and the European Championship in Spanish colours.
Two brothers. Two national anthems. The same surname, the same club, different footballing destinies.
Inaki’s choice always carried a deeper emotional weight. His move to Ghana was not about securing trophies or chasing a more glamorous international profile. It was about belonging, about closing a circle that began when his parents left West Africa for a new life in the Basque Country.
Farewell as a new era begins
The timing of his announcement is no coincidence. Williams steps away just a week after Ghana confirmed the return of Carlos Queiroz as head coach, with preparations already pointing toward the 2027 Afcon, to be staged across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
A new coach, a new cycle, a squad in transition. Williams has decided that this is where his part of the story ends.
He leaves with modest numbers on paper – two goals in 28 appearances – but his impact cannot be measured solely by statistics. For many Ghanaian fans, he embodied a bridge between the diaspora and the national team, a symbol of a generation that lives between continents but still feels the pull of a flag.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has been part of this journey and for all the love you have always shown me,” he wrote, before signing off with a line that underlines how permanent this bond remains, even without the shirt.
“Ghana will always be a part of me. I will continue supporting the Black Stars as one of you, wherever I am.”
The boots are not hung up. The San Mamés crowd will still roar his name. But on the international stage, Inaki Williams has taken his final bow for Ghana, leaving behind a story of identity, loyalty and a home rediscovered.
