Ghana forward Inaki Williams emerged as the hero for Athletic Bilbao after scoring the winning goal in the club’s 2-1 win over Valencia in the Spanish Cup (Copa Del Rey) quarterfinals.
The win qualifies Bilbao to the semifinals; FC Barcelona and Real Sociedad have also progressed to the semis with the winner of the Real Betis v Atletico Madrid game on Thursday, February 5 set to determine the final semifinalist for this season’s competition.
Williams scored the winning goal in the 96th minute with his brother Nico Williams, who plays for Spain, providing the assist.
The goal is only Inaki’s second in 21 games in all competitions of an injury hit 2025-2026 season that had the Black Stars player miss multiple games over a two month period in the latter part of 2025. He dealt with an abductor injury during this period.
Williams came off the bench in the 70th minute with Nico and the pair combined to put Bilbao through to the next round.
📌 Min. 96 ✍️ @Williaaams45
🏆 The skipper books our spot in the semi-finals.
🤯 Enjoy it, Athleticzales! 🥹#ValenciaAthletic 🏆 #AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/321Fn5QFLc
— Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) February 4, 2026
After missing Black Stars games in October and November last year, Williams’s winner could spell a return to international football ahead of this year’s World Cup in June.
