Should Callum Hudson-Odoi play for Ghana?
Callum Hudson-Odoi must play for Ghana. Here’s why.
Yes he should.
Chelsea starlet Callum Hudson-Odoi has made headlines across the African football sphere for his arrival in Ghana for vacation just days after lifting the UEFA Champions League trophy with the London side.
He was shown on social media in Accra hanging around with famed Ghanaian musician King Promise before playing in a friendly match donning his Chelsea kit.
Some are calling his trip to Ghana a homecoming, while others are even believing it is a sign he will switch his international footballing allegiance from England (his country of birth) to Ghana (the country of his parents).
Ghana (and Ghanaian football) runs deep in his family’s history. Aside from his Ghanaian ancestry, his father Bismark Odoi played for famed Ghanaian side Accra Hearts of Oak and his older brother Bradley (who is Callum’s agent) was born in Accra and played for Ghana’s U20 side.
The flashy winger made his Chelsea debut in January 2018, quickly impressing to the point that German giants Bayern Munich made numerous public bids for the youngster.
He’s been playing senior level football for Chelsea for so long that we forget he’s only 20.
After representing England at every level from U-16 to U-19, Hudson-Odoi was called up to the senior squad for Euro 2020 qualifiers by manager Gareth Southgate in March 2019. After coming on as a substitute in a 5-0 win over the Czech Republic at Wembley Stadium he became the youngest player to make his debut for England in a competitive match aged 18 years and 135 days, breaking a record set by Manchester United legend Duncan Edwards in 1955.
He registered an assist in his first start three days later, before appearing against Kosovo in another Euro qualifier in November of that year.
That match against Kosovo was the last time he played for the Three Lions, almost two years ago.
Despite signing a five-year contract extension in September 2019, he struggled for game time under Frank Lampard - making just 7 Premier League starts in the 19/20 season.
The appointment of Thomas Tuchel as manager in January 2021 gave a short boost of energy to his Chelsea career, with the winger frequently appearing in the German manager’s teams. Unfortunately this would not stick, as he appeared in only five of sixteen games for the Blues from April to the end of the season.
Subsequently, England manager Gareth Southgate did not include the 20-year-old in his squad for the Euro 2020 tournament - reopening the Pandora’s Box of African football fans wondering if players in Hudson-Odoi’s position should switch nationalities to their African roots.
Hudson-Odoi making his international debut for England in Euro 2020 qualifiers.
Able to switch his international allegiance to Ghana due to FIFA’s new eligibility rules, the Chelsea man will likely consider his international future when he watches England at the Euros this summer from his couch.
It’s an interesting dilemma for Hudson-Odoi. Once one of the world’s most sought-after youngsters, a tough two years has seen him fall down the pecking order at club and country - although it is clear he is still a player with an abundance of ability and potential.
The recent emergence of fellow English starlets Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, and Mason Greenwood has made it even harder for Hudson-Odoi to envision a future as a starter for the Three Lions. Although still aged 20, who knows how good he could be in a few years’ time.
In the immediate future though, keeping next January’s AFCON in mind, switching to Ghana could be very enticing.
For Ghanaian and African football, the benefits of an established player like Callum Hudson-Odoi switching to Ghana are so obvious. He would be the best attacker on the team by some distance, and would give Ghana fans significantly more hope in their attacking corps heading into next year's AFCON. Additionally, the prospect of him linking up with Ajax’s Mohammed Kudus (20), Ajax-bound Kamaldeen Sulemana (19), and Liverpool-bound Abdul Fatawu Issahaku (17) would make Ghana a force to be reckoned with on the international stage for at least the next decade.
Not to mention, a player of his caliber switching to an African nation could encourage other Afro-European stars to follow his path or even persuade youngsters to skip playing for their adopted nations at youth level and play for their African counterparts. The impact of the latter would be incredibly significant for African football, as having elite youth talents playing in African youth teams would go a long way towards improving the level of youth football on the continent.
For Hudson-Odoi, the player would likely prefer the glamor of playing for England over Ghana and obviously has strong ties to the Three Lions considering he has been a part of their setup since he was 14.
However, should he switch international allegiance, the benefits to him would be multifold.
Not only would he be the best attacker on the team and get to pull the strings on the pitch, but he would also have millions of soccer-loving Ghanaians fervently supporting him at club and country. It could do wonders for his brand, as he would be the face of his country’s football team alongside fellow London-based Premier League footballer Thomas Partey.
He would be tasked with ensuring the return of the Black Stars as an African football powerhouse. And should Hudson-Odoi, Kudus, Sulemana, and Issahaku fulfill their potentials, a deep run in the World Cup wouldn’t be out of the question.
Imagine what he could do for Ghana at the coming AFCON and World Cup, it would almost surely trump cameos against the likes of Kosovo and Montenegro.
At the end of the day, the choice is obviously his. Where his allegiance lies, and if it has wavered since being snubbed from the Euros squad, is only known by him and his family. But given his precarious international future with England, his Ghanian connection, and the glory that would come with putting on the Black Stars shirt, it would make a lot of sense for him to play for Ghana.
Can Kelechi Iheanacho become 'world class'?
Kelechi Iheanacho has revived his career after struggling at Leicester City. Can he keep up his goal-scoring form next season?
Back in 2016 Kelechi Iheanacho was tipped to become a world-beater. He was scoring goals with ease for Manchester City as an 18-year-old and everyone was wondering how good he could become.
He finished the 2015/16 season as City’s third highest scorer with 14 goals and 5 assists in all competitions, including leading the English Premier League in goals-per-minute (averaging a goal every 94 minutes).
He started the next season off with a bang, scoring and assisting in a 2-1 win over Manchester United. A 19-year-old dominating in the Manchester Derby was almost unthinkable, and it made City and Nigeria fans excited for the future. He joined an exclusive list that included the likes of Wayne Rooney and Romelu Lukaku when he scored his 10th Premier League goal before the age of 20, and was even nominated for the 2016 FIFA Golden Boy award.
A young Iheanacho with Manchester City.
Unfortunately, new manager Pep Guardiola was somehow unsatisfied with the Nigerian striker, and sold the starlet to Leicester City for £25m. This is where things started to get complicated. Kelechi only started 7 Premier League games in the 2017/18 season, and continued to be a back-up for the prolific Jamie Vardy for the next 2.5 years - only getting significant playing time in the FA and EFL Cups.
Even at the beginning of the 2020/21 season Kelechi was not in the first-team, and was expected to watch his side from the bench for most of the campaign. However, as we now know, this was not the case. Significant injuries to attacking players Cengiz Under, Harvery Barnes, and James Maddison created openings in the squad and Iheanacho took his chances well, if not perfectly.
After starting only two EPL games in the season before 2021, Kelechi hit unprecedented streaks of playing time and goal-scoring form for his Leicester career in the second half of the season. Before March 2021 Kelechi had scored five goals and assisted three, with only one of his goals coming in league play. However due to the aforementioned injuries in addition to the sidelining of club legend Jamie Vardy with a groin issue, Kelechi was given the chance to lead the Leicester line for the rest of the season.
Kelechi with his Premier League Player of the Month award.
His March began with a goal against Burnley. Three days later he scored again in his side’s 2-1 win over Brighton. The next game he netted his first-ever Premier League hat-trick in Leicester’s 5-0 demolition of Sheffield United. In a span of 11 days the Nigerian had scored as many league goals (5) as he had in the entirety of the last season. A week later he was responsible for every goal in Leicester’s 3-1 win over Manchester United in the FA Cup, scoring two and assisting one goal. This performance was especially significant for the fact that it catapulted him to the top of the all-time African scorers in the FA Cup list, with his 14 goals eclipsing Didier Drogba’s 12.
He won the March Premier League Player of the Month award, but his form didn’t stop there. He either scored or assisted in all of the four league games in April, netting four and providing two goals. During April he also sent his side to the FA Cup final, scoring the lone goal against Southampton at Wembley to send the Leicester fans into a frenzy. He concluded the season with two goals in May, while also helping his side lift the FA Cup after defeating Chelsea in the final.
Unfortunately for Leicester the end of their season was bittersweet as they failed to qualify for the Champions League, however, their fans had the FA Cup glory and the shock rise of Kelechi to make up for the blow.
Iheanacho finished the season with 19 goals in all competitions (12 in the league, 4 in the FA Cup, and 3 in the Europa League), a career high. He’s shown us what he’s capable of when given consistent play-time, and the advanced statistics give us a closer look at just how good he was.
He led the league in goals-per-minute (the second time he’s done that in his career) by averaging .74 goals every 90 minutes, .07 more than second-placed Harry Kane. Moreover, when you remove penalties from the equation the stats favor Kelechi even more since the Nigerian did not score any penalties this season. The gap between first-placed Kelechi and second placed Edinson Cavani grows to .09. Kelechi ranked second in Non-Penalty Goals + Assists/90 with .86, behind Harry Kane who averaged .96.
The more advanced statistics which measure how efficient the player was with his shots also highlight Kelechi’s magnificence. He averaged .21 goals per shot (7th in the league), meaning that every one in five of his shots ended up in the back of the net.
Expected goals, which measures the probability of every shot being a goal based on location, is a popular way to evaluate the quality of chances a player has taken over the course of a season. The 24-year-old Nigerian averaged .43 non-penalty expected goals per 90 minutes, ninth highest in the league. This means that Kelechi was one of the top players in the league in terms of getting into good scoring positions.
For a striker however, actually scoring goals is generally more important than getting into good positions, which is where comparing the player’s actual goal return and expected goals helps us evaluate how clinical the player was. Kelechi overperformed his non-penalty expected goals by 5, meaning that the Nigerian was expected to score 7 league goals based on the quality of his chances but actually scored 12. Iheanacho was third in the league in this metric (non-penalty goals minus non-penalty expected goals), behind Tottentham’s Son Heung-min and Gareth Bale.
With Jamie Vardy continuing to age (he turns 35 in January), it’s expected that Leieceter boss Brendan Rodgers will need to rely more heavily on the Nigerian striker next season. But the question on my mind is: can he replicate this form across an entire season?
Kelechi and his compatriot Wilfred Ndidi.
Overperforming your expected goals does mean that the player shot better than expected, but it could also mean that their goal-scoring form is unsustainable and that they will revert to the average in the future.
His goals per 90 stat indicates that he would lead the league in goals if he played as many minutes as the likes of Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah, which would almost surely make him a ‘world class’ player. However, we know this is unlikely to happen as opposition defenses would be better prepared to mark him if he was starting every week as opposed to the limited minutes he received last season.
On the other hand, Kelechi had a run of over 10 games towards the end of the season where he started every game - and he scored in most of those games. It will be interesting to see what happens next season.
Regardless, it’s inspiring to see how he has rebuilt his career and stuck himself into the conversation of the best strikers in the Premier League.
All stats came from fbref.com
Why Édouard Mendy should be African Footballer of the Year
First African goalkeeper to win the UEFA Champions League. Édouard Mendy will have quite a story to tell his grandchildren.
First African goalkeeper to win the UEFA Champions League. Édouard Mendy will have quite a story to tell his grandchildren in the future.
Amongst all of the redemption and heart-warming stories within Chelsea’s improbable Champions League title this season, perhaps none are more striking than Senegalese goalkeeper Édouard Mendy’s.
After being released from French lower league side AS Cherbourg in 2014 aged 22 Mendy struggled to find a new club, leading him to register for unemployment and consider ending his dreams of becoming a footballer. If you told him then that he would be the number one goalkeeper for one of the biggest clubs in the world in 2021, let alone lifting the Champions League trophy, he almost surely would have thought you were crazy. It was unimaginable. But it happened.
Mendy arrived at Chelsea this season relatively unknown and, given the shockingly poor performances of £71m goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, was not faced with a lot of pressure. Regardless, he exceeded every expectation of him with flying colours.
He conceded one goal in his Blues debut against Tottenham in the EFL Cup as they lost 5-4 in penalties, but despite the loss he showed his quality - making numerous big saves and giving Chelsea fans a newfound confidence in their goalkeeper.
He then went the next two months (6 matches) without conceding a single goal, including a shutout in his Champions League debut against Sevilla. It was a marked improvement from his European exploits with Stade Rennais in the Europa League last season, where he conceded 6 goals in 4 games (including a red card in the fifth minute in a 1-0 loss to Romain CFR Cluj).
He experienced a rough patch of form in December, making a rather poor mistake leading to a goal against Leeds, before consecutive losses to Chelsea and Wolves. He bounced back with a clean sheet against West Ham, before conceding three goals to both Arsenal and Manchester City in the following two weeks. But for Mendy, who was about to end his footballing career in 2015 had it not been for his friend and former teammate Ted Lavie recommending him to Marseille to fill a goalkeeping vacancy in the reserve team, this was just a small blip in his story.
Mendy joined Marseille for the 2015/16 season as the fourth string goalkeeper, playing as a backup for the B team. His trial with the club was so good that he convinced the club to offer him a one-year amateur contract on a minimum salary, allowing him to train and develop at one of France’s biggest clubs, although he only played a handful of times for the reserve team.
The next season he moved to Ligue 2 side Reims as a backup, signing his first ever professional contract. He impressed in the limited chances he got, so much so that he earned the starting role for the next season - a first in his career.
He was solid as they won the Ligue 2 title and thus earned promotion to the first division. He played every game in his first season in top-flight football as Reims exceeded expectations to finish eighth.
His performances were impressive enough to convince Stade Rennais to purchase him for around £4m. He performed even better at the Brittany-based side, keeping nine clean sheets in 24 matches to help his side finish third and qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
It was during Mendy’s time at Rennes that he made his Senegal debut. Interestingly enough, he was initially called up to the Guinea-Bissau camp for a friendly in 2016, choosing to represent the country of his father who was very ill at the time. Since the match was not regulated by FIFA, he knew that playing for Guinea-Bissau this time would not prevent him from eventually playing for the country of his mother, Senegal. Mendy was not impressed by the Guinea-Bissau setup and eventually decided to pledge his international future to the Teranga Lions - where he incidentally made his debut against Guinea-Bissau.
Once again, Mendy became the first-choice goalkeeper and started in Senegal’s first two AFCON 2019 matches before a broken finger forced him to withdraw from the squad. Senegal proceeded to reach the final of the tournament without him, losing 1-0 to Algeria. Mendy now heads into the next AFCON as one of the best African goalkeepers, if not the best, as the Teranga Lions look to win the continental spectacle.
However, arguably more important for his career, it was at Rennes that Chelsea’s legendary goalkeeper Petr Cech scouted Mendy and eventually convinced the London club’s board to sign him. With Kepa continuing to disappoint the Chelsea faithful with shocker after shocker, Chelsea were forced to buy a replacement and it was Mendy they chose, following the recommendation of their iconic goalkeeper and paying Rennes £22m to secure his signature.
Mendy’s excellent save against Sevilla.
Mendy had been playing fairly well under Frank Lampard in his first few months at Chelsea, adjusting incredibly well to a new league and it’s playing style, something his Spanish predecessor in goal failed to do. Mendy was keeping the defense sturdy, but the attack was floundering - especially the new signings Timo Werner and Kai Havertz. Following a 2-0 loss to Leicester Lampard was sacked and former PSG manager Thomas Tuchel was appointed Chelsea boss.
After proving himself as the number one under Lampard Mendy had to do the same for Tuchel and just that he did. In his first five games under the German manager he conceded just two goals, keeping three clean sheets. It was in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages that Mendy really established himself as a top-class goalkeeper, first keeping a clean sheet in both Round of 16 legs against Atletico Madrid as Chelsea advanced 2-0 on aggregate.
In the first leg of the quarter-finals against Porto Mendy kept another sheet as his side won 2-0, and conceded one goal in the second leg. Out all of the UCL knockout opponents that the Blues faced this season including Manchester City and Real Madrid, it was actually Porto that gave the Chelsea defense the most trouble as they created far more threatening chances. Had it not been for Mendy, it’s possible that the London side could have crashed out in the Quarter-Finals.
He similarly conceded conceded one goal over two legs to Real Madrid, although Mendy was praised even more for his shot-stopping efforts, notably making a crucial save on a thunderous strike from Karim Benzema. Back in the Premier League he saved Sergio Aguero’s panenka penalty in a 2-1 win over then EPL Champions-elect Manchester City, and continued his fine form to finish out the domestic campaign as Chelsea finished in a top four spot.
In the Champions League final against City Mendy did not have much to do thanks to the solid defense ahead of him and the lackluster nature of the City attacks. Regardless, he kept a clean sheet as his side won 1-0 to lift the most prestigious trophy in club football. It was historic in many senses: he kept nine clean sheets in 12 UCL games - conceding only three goals and equalling the record for the most clean sheets in a UCL campaign. Perhaps more significantly: he became the first African and first Black African goalkeeper to win the UEFA Champions League. It is worth noting that Bruce Grobbelaar won the European Cup with Liverpool in 1984, however this was before the modern era of the Champions League and Grobbelaar was not black.
Cameroonian goalkeeper Andre Onana was arguably the best African goalkeeper a few seasons ago for his performances with Ajax in the UCL.
The goalkeeper position has long been dominated by white men, with the likes of Cameroonian goalkeeper Andre Onana even claiming an Italian side refused to sign him because he was black. A Black goalkeeper in elite European football is a rare sight, with the most prominent example being Brazilian Dida at AC Milan from 2000-2010. Very few Black goalkeepers have been able to advance to the next level due to the prejudice that exists against Black players in goal. This is why Mendy’s UCL victory is so significant - he is a pioneer.
It is for this reason that Édouard Mendy should win the African Footballer of the Year award. Assuming he keeps up a decent level of performances to close out the year, only the likes of Riyad Mahrez and maybe Achraf Hakimi have played well enough this season to warrant a place in the discussions, and I think it’s not outlandish to say Mendy has been better than both of them. Aside from the historic nature of his accomplishments and the heart-warming story of his rise to the top, the 6’6 shot stopper has imposed himself as not only the Chelsea and Senegal number one, but also as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. This needs to be rewarded.
Top 10 Largest Football Stadiums in Africa
We’ve compiled a list of the ten largest football grounds in Africa by capacity.
10. Abuja National Stadium (Moshood Abiola National Stadium)
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Opened: 2003
Capacity: 60,491
Record Attendance: Unknown
Tenants: Domestic League, Nigeria National Team
The stadium was inaugurated with a match between Nigerian rivals Shooting Stars and Sunshine Stars. The stadium is also the host to many religious event. In 2006 the President notoriously decided to hold a religious event instead of an international match between Nigeria and Rwanda. The stadium was the most expensive stadium upon completion in 2003.
9. Ellis Park Stadium
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Opened: 1928
Capacity: 62,567
Record Attendance: 55,686 (Argentina vs Nigeria 2010 FIFA World Cup)
Tenants: Rugby
Mainly used for Rugby matches, the stadium hosted numerous matches during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup (including the final) and 2010 FIFA World Cup after a renovation and expansion in 2009. The stadium was the site of the Ellis Park Stadium disaster of 11 April 2001, when 43 fans lost their lives during a stampede at a match between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.
8. Stade du 5 Juillet 1962
Location: Algiers, Algeria
Opened: 1972
Capacity: 64,000
Record Attendance: 110,000 (Algeria vs Serbia 2010)
Tenants: MC Alger, Algeria National Team
Named after Algeria’s Independence Day (5 July), the stadium was inaugurated with a tournament that featured the Arab Maghreb, AC Milan, Hungary and Palmeiras.
7. Tripoli International Olympic Stadium
Location: Tripoli, Libya
Opened: 1970
Capacity: 65,000
Record Attendance: 80,000 (Ghana vs Libya 1982 AFCON Final)
Tenants: Libya National Team, Al Ahli Tripoli, Al Ittihad Tripoli, Al Madina
Known as “Africa’s Graveyard”, the stadium famously hosted the 1982 Africa Cup of Nations final between Ghana and Libya. It was also interestingly the host of the 2002 Italian Super Cup.
6. Mohammed V Stadium
Location: Casablanca, Morocco
Opened: 1955
Capacity: 67,000
Record Attendance: 100,000 (Raja - Wydad, 1997)
Tenants: Raja Casablanca, Wydad Casablanca, Morocco National Team
Built in 1955, the stadium was renamed Stade D’honneur after Morocco’s independence the following year. It was renovated in 2015.
5. Cairo International Stadium
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Opened: 1960
Capacity: 75,000
Record Attendance: 120,000 (Egypt vs Cameroon 1986 AFCON Final)
Tenants: Al Ahly, Zamalek, Egypt National Team
Cairo international Stadium was notoriously known for being able to fit more people than intended before seats were added to all sections in 2005. It is known for hosting Egypt’s most important matches, including the Cairo Derby. The stadium underwent major renovations in 2005 and 2019 in preparation for hosting the Africa Cup of Nations tournaments the following years.
4. National Sports Stadium
Location: Harare, Zimbabwe
Opened: 1987
Capacity: 80,000
Record Attendance: Unknown
Tenants: Caps United, Zimbabwe National Team
Financed by the Chinese government under the presidency of Robert Mugabe, the Harare stadium held the 6th All-Africa games in 1995. It was also the site of former dictator Robert Mugabe’s funeral. The stadium was reportedly filled to capacity in 2012 and 2014 for services by Zimbabwean pastor Emmanuel Makandiwa.
3. Stade des Martyrs
Location: Kinshasa, DR Congo
Opened: 1994
Capacity: 80,000 (reportedly can fit up to 125,000 people)
Record Attendance: 100,000
Tenants: AS Vita, DR Congo National Team
Built under the reign of President Mobutu Sese Seko with the name Stade Kamanyola from 1988 to 1994. After the dictator was removed from power, the stadium was renamed to Stade des Martyrs de la Pentecôte (Martyrs of Pentecost Stadium).
2. Borg El Arab
Location: Alexandria, Egypt
Opened: 2009
Capacity: 86,000
Record Attendance: 86,000 (Egypt vs Congo 2017)
Tenants: Egypt National Team
Originally commissioned as part of an ambitious 5 international-standard stadiums project for Egypt's bid to host the World Cup, the stadium became the home stadium for the Egyptian National Team alongside Cairo International Stadium. It has been described by some FIFA members as an identical copy of the State de France in Paris.
1. FNB Stadium (Soccer City)
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Opened: 1989
Capacity: 94,736
Record Attendance: 94,807 (Kaizer Chiefs vs Orlando Pirates)
Tenants: Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa National Team
Renovated and expanded for the 2010 World Cup, Soccer City hosted the 2010 World Cup Final. The stadium was also the site of Nelson Mandela’s first speech after his release from prison in 1990 and memorial service.
Have you been to any of these stadiums? Let us know on social media.