Chelsea right-winger Callum Hudson-Odoi is still considering switching his allegiance to Ghana since he has not been able to break into the senior team of England.
Over the years, the goal of the 21-year-old right-winger has been to play for the Three Lions of England. Recall that Hudson-Odoi has played for the country’s under-16 to under-21 level.
In fact, on March 22, 2019, Callum Hudson-Odoi’s dream of playing for the senior team came true when the head coach of the team, Gareth Southgate allowed him to make his debut.
Since then, the Ghanaian-born English winger managed to make just three appearances. Afterward, the coach did not deem him good enough to be invited again.
Unfortunately for Callum Hudson-Odoi, he has not played for the national team for the past two and a half years. Luckily for him, his future is not completely tied to England national team since a FIFA rule permits players to switch nationality as far as they have not played for a country more than three times before they clock 21.
Hence, for the fact that Ghana is the ancestral home of Hudson-Odoi, the English footballer who was born in Wandsworth, England to Ghanaian parents can switch his allegiance to Ghana.
As it stands, if Hudson-Odoi chooses to switch his allegiance to Ghana between now and March, he could feature in Ghana’s team that will play a FIFA World Cup play-off against Nigeria on March 22 and March 29.
If Ghana win the two-legged World Cup qualification game, the country will feature in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar which is Hudson-Odoi’s golden opportunity to play in the World Cup.
But if the Chelsea winger decides to keep waiting for coach Gareth Southgate to call him back to the national team, the possibility of being in England’s World Cup squad is very slim due to the caliber of players available for the team.
After playing a part in Chelsea’s historic triumph in the FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi, Callum Hudson-Odoi was made to discuss his international future. Reporters asked him if he would be playing for England instead of switching his allegiance to Ghana.
In his response, the 21-year-old winger who has been in England all his life stressed that he still hopes to break into the national team.
“Hopefully. I don’t know”, Hudson-Odoi said.
“At the end of the day, we will wait until that time comes.”
Recall that recently, he was invited to play for England’s under-21 side instead of being invited to represent the country’s senior team. Hudson-Odoi turned down the invitation to prove that he prefers to play for the country’s senior team.
While reacting to Hudson-Odoi’s decision to turn down the invitation of playing for England’s under-21 team, coach Gareth Southgate stressed that the Chelsea winger was invited to the junior team so that coaches of the senior team could have a closer look at what he could do on the pitch.
But the coach’s excuse for inviting Hudson-Odoi to play for the under-21 team was not strong enough to convince the UEFA Champions League, the FIFA Club World Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup winner to move from playing for the country’s senior team to playing for the country’s under-21 team.
As it stands, only time will tell the national team Callum Hudson-Odoi will play his international football with. But currently, he does not have a chance of playing for the Three Lions of England in 2022.
Callum Hudson Odoi – Skillshow pic.twitter.com/HIaeUU846o
— Br0dieOverFakers (@NinoI2x) September 8, 2021
Callum Hudson-Odoi faced the same dilemma at the club but decided to settle for Chelsea
Ahead of the 2021-2022 season, Callum Hudson-Odoi wanted to leave Chelsea due to his inability to play regularly. A series of speculations linked him with a loan move to Borussia Dortmund. But the English winger could not make the move.
Chelsea’s coach Thomas Tuchel who wanted to have squad depth ensured that he frustrated every offer that was made for the English winger.
Luckily for Hudson-Odoi, Chelsea’s top choice forwards, Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner got injured at the same period which gave coach Tuchel no option but to play the 21-year-old winger more regularly.
The fact that he waited at Chelsea gave him the opportunity of winning the FIFA Club World Cup which he would not have won if he had joined Dortmund.
After winning the prestigious world title, Hudson-Odoi said: “You want to win as much as possible with a club like this. Our aim is always to win games and win as many as possible.
“If I went out in the summer I wouldn’t get opportunities to play like this and win trophies. I’m really delighted that I stayed and obviously I got the opportunity to play.
“For me, I’ve just got to give it 120 percent from minute one every single game.”
Hudson-Odoi’s contract with Chelsea will expire on June 30, 2024. So far this season, the Chelsea academy graduate has played 27 games in all competitions in which he scored three goals and provided six assists.
W O R L D C H A M P I O N S!!💙🔥 pic.twitter.com/dmLlciT020
— Callum Hudson-Odoi (@Calteck10) February 12, 2022
