It’s believed the Ghana FA contacted Eddie Nketiah – England’s record scorer at the U21 level – several times to convince him to represent Ghana at the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.
The Arsenal striker is eligible to represent Ghana at the international level but is said to be reluctant about switching his international allegiance. He enjoyed a great youth career with England, scoring 16 goals in 17 caps to become the country’s record U21 scorer.
Despite flourishing for the U21s, Nketiah is still waiting for his first cap at the senior level. At just 23, there’s still enough time for him to be called up by Gareth Southgate.
He remains highly rated by the Gunners, who handed him a new long-term deal in the summer.
Currently, the GFA has halted their pursuit of Nketiah after making several attempts to persuade him to represent the country at this year’s tournament.
The player is said to be hesitant to commit his international future to Ghana.
“There have been discussions, but nothing has been decided,” Nketiah said in June after putting pen to paper on his fresh contract for Arsenal. Ghana has attempted to persuade several players to switch their international allegiance ahead of the World Cup.
Eddie Nketiah will not play for Ghana at this year’s World Cup
Speaking to The Beautiful Game Podcast in April, Nketiah said: “My parents are both Ghanaian, so of course, it’s a possibility. I am open to both – playing for Ghana or England.
“As you said, I’ve played for the youth teams so naturally when I was younger, they called me up to go play for them. Being from Ghana, you are happy they have qualified for the World Cup. I know players like [Thomas] Party, and I am happy for them as well. It’s always good to have that opportunity to potentially do that.”
FIFA allow players to switch nationalities if they have played three senior games or fewer, and those appearances came before the age of 21.
Neither Nketiah expected to be part of the form time will tell.
