Iñaki Williams was a used substitute on Monday, January 22 when Ghana crumbled in the last minute against Mozambique at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations.
In that game, Mozambique scored two stoppage-time penalties to salvage a 2-2 draw, with the South African nation condemning The Black Stars to an early exit from the tournament, having amassed a meagre two points.
But this game was just but a culmination of what was a tournament to forget for Ghana, with Iñaki Williams and his team-mates scoring blanks in Ivory Coast.
After the dismal performance and subsequent elimination, Iñaki raced back to Spain on Wednesday morning, with the hope of making it on time to play for Athletic Club against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals.
Indeed, Iñaki made it to the match day squad, albeit on the bench.
Iñaki William’s impact
But in the 59th minute, Coach Ernesto Valverde brought in Iñaki, and the rest is history.
He scored to give Athletic Bilbao the lead over Barcelona in extra time.
“(Iñaki) is a phenomenon, he’s one of the souls of the team and he showed it again,” Athletic defender Dani Vivian heaped praise on him.
Ghana fire coach
Back home, the Ghana Football Association has since fired Coach Chris Hughton.
“The Ghana Football Association wishes to announce that Chris Hughton has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the senior National team with immediate effect,” the federation said in a statement, adding that the Executive Council had also taken a decision to dissolve the technical team of the Black Stars.
