England’s Chelsea youngster could play for Ghana at the 2022 World Cup

Posted Friday, April 01, 2022 by Caughtoffside.com

England and Chelsea youngster Callum Hudson-Odoi is considering switching his international allegiance from England to Ghana ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

It has been two and a half years since the Chelsea player received a call up to represent England, playing his last game for the country against Kosovo on the 17th of November 2019, during the qualification period for the 2020 European Championships.

With that in mind, the 21-year-old is now said to be considering his options at international level having not been considered for recent Three Lions squads, according to GOAL.

The 21-year-old has also opted to snub recent call-ups to Lee Carsley’s Under-21s side and therefore is not playing any international football at present.

England’s Chelsea youngster could play for Ghana at the 2022 World Cup

Despite having represented England and having earned all three of his caps in competitive matches, Hudson-Odoi remains eligible to switch nations. That comes after a FIFA rule change in September 2020 allowed players with no more than three caps to change, if they had earned those appearances before their 21st birthday.

Although born in London, Hudson-Odoi has dual nationality through his father Bismark who was a footballer in Ghana for Hearts of Oak and with his father’s nation now through to the 2022 World Cup after coming through a two-legged tie with Nigeria on Tuesday, it looks more likely that the 21-year-old could represent the African nation.

Hudson-Odoi is enduring a mixed season at Chelsea, as he is in and amongst a really competitive pool of players for the wing-back and inverted winger positions. Despite that, the 21-year-old has played adequately when called upon and has scored three goals and a further six assists in all competitions for the London club this season.

Going off Tuesday’s line-up, Hudson-Odoi will be competing with fellow Premier League player Jordan Ayew and Sporting Lisbon’s Abdul Fatawu Issahaku for a place on the wings in the Ghanian side, who set up in a 4-2-3-1. The Chelsea player would be a better option than the 18-year-old Sporting Lisbon youngster on the right, due to his experience with Chelsea.

GOAL report that Hudson-Odoi has previously been invited to meet President Nana Akufo-Addo and is understood to have had dialogue with the Ghanaian FA.

These are positive signs for those hoping to see the youngster in a Ghana shirt but only time will tell if he lines up for the Black Stars in Qatar.