Nico Williams

Nicholas "Nico" Williams Arthuer (born 12 July 2002) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao and the Spain national team.

This article is about the Spanish footballer. For the Welsh footballer, see Neco Williams.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Williams and the second or maternal family name is Arthuer.
Nico Williams
Personal information
Full name Nicholas Williams Arthuer[1]
Date of birth (2002-07-12) 12 July 2002
Place of birth Pamplona, Navarre, Spain
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 Athletic Bilbao
Number 11
Youth career
2010–2012 CD Pamplona
2012–2013 Osasuna
2013–2019 Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Basconia 3 (0)
2020–2021 Bilbao Athletic 24 (9)
2021– Athletic Bilbao 77 (6)
International career‡
2019–2021 Spain U18 4 (2)
2021–2022 Spain U21 5 (1)
2022– Spain 10 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:57, 10 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:19, 29 March 2023 (UTC)

Joining Athletic Bilbao's youth academy in 2013, he was promoted to the reserve team in 2020 and to the first team a year later, becoming a teammate of elder brother Iñaki. Quickly being widely recognised for his speed and dribbling skills,[2] Williams debuted for Spain's senior side in 2022 and was a member of their 2022 FIFA World Cup squad.

Club career

Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Williams joined the youth academy of Athletic Bilbao in 2013 from hometown side CA Osasuna.[3] He began his senior career with the club's farm team, Basconia, during the 2019–20 season.[4]

On 11 May 2020, Williams was promoted to the reserve team in the Segunda División B.[5] He made his first team – and La Liga – debut on 28 April of the following year, coming on as a second-half substitute for Jon Morcillo in a 2–2 home draw against Real Valladolid;[6] his brother Iñaki also came off the bench ten minutes later. It was the first time two siblings had been on the pitch at the same time for the club since Julio and Patxi Salinas in 1986.[7]

Williams scored his first two goals for the Lions on 6 January 2022, in a 2–0 win over Atlético Mancha Real in the campaign's Copa del Rey.[8] Seven days later, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Atlético Madrid in the semi-final of the 2021–22 Supercopa de España.[9] On 20 January 2022, Williams was given a first team contract after meeting a number of clauses.[10]

Williams was a starter in four of the first five matches of the 2022–23 La Liga campaign, and was named player of the match in a 4–1 away win against Elche CF on 11 September 2022. In the first half-hour of the match he pressurised an opponent into conceding an own goal, won a penalty for a trip (converted by Oihan Sancet) then scored himself via a dribble from the right wing and powerful shot for his first goal in the competition.[11] Coincidentally this was the same venue and opponent where his brother first found the net in the league seven years earlier.[12] He scored again the following week, the decisive goal of a 3–2 victory over Rayo Vallecano and his first at San Mamés.[13]

International career

Williams first represented Spain with the under-18 squad in 2020, scoring two goals in four games.[14] He was called up to the Spain under-19s in February 2021,[15] and made his debut for the under-21s in September of the same year.[16] He received his first call-up to the senior squad, coached by Luis Enrique, for 2022–23 UEFA Nations League fixtures in September 2022.[17] On November 17 he scored his first goal for the national team in a friendly against Jordan and subsequently was called up for 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Personal life

Williams was born in Pamplona to Ghanaian parents, who travelled across the Sahara Desert to reach Melilla, an autonomous Spanish city located in North Africa.[18][19][20] His elder brother Iñaki Williams is also a footballer and a forward; he too was brought up at Athletic Bilbao having been born in Spain a short time after his parents arrived there.[21][22] Nico typically wears Williams Jr on the back of his shirt, including in international matches which do not involve Iñaki. Growing up, he was a fan of Asamoah Gyan.[23]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 6 October 2023[24]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Copa del Rey Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Basconia 2019–20 Tercera División 30—1[lower-alpha 1]040
Athletic Bilbao B 2020–21 Segunda División B 249—2[lower-alpha 2]0269
Athletic Bilbao 2020–21 La Liga 20000020
2021–22 La Liga 340422[lower-alpha 3]1403
2022–23 La Liga 36673—439
2023–24 La Liga 6000—60
Total 776115219012
Career total 105151155112121
  1. Appearance in Tercera División play-offs
  2. Appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
  3. Appearances in Supercopa de España

International
As of match played 12 September 2023[25]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Spain 202271
202331
Total102
As of match played 8 September 2023.
Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Williams goal.[25]
List of international goals scored by Nico Williams
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
117 November 2022Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan3 Jordan3–03–1Friendly
28 September 2023Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia9 Georgia6–17–1UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

See also

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Spain (ESP)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 27. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. Under the microscope:What makes Nico Williams a key asset of Athletic Bilbao, Ajai Subrahamian, La Liga Analysis, 23 December 2022
  3. Rabuñal, Iago Castro (8 May 2020). "Nico Williams, la nueva gran promesa del Athletic" [Nico Williams, the new great promise of Athletic] (in Spanish).
  4. "Nico Williams sube al filial e Iñaki le espera pronto a su lado" [Nico Williams goes up to the subsidiary and Iñaki will be waiting for him soon by his side]. AS.com (in Spanish). 11 May 2020.
  5. "Nico Williams y Nico Serrano, al Bilbao Athletic" [Nico Williams and Nico Serrano, to Bilbao Athletic]. Athletic Club website (in Spanish). 11 May 2020.
  6. "Athletic Club vs. Real Valladolid". Soccerway. 28 April 2021.
  7. "Draw against Real Valladolid at San Mamés". Athletic Club website. 28 April 2021.
  8. "Nico Williams' double ends the illusion of Atlético Mancha Real". Spain's News. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  9. "Nico Williams scores dramatic late winner as Athletic Club stun Atletico Madrid with comeback". Eurosport. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  10. "Nico Williams earns first-team contract". Athletic Bilbao. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  11. Nico Williams opens La Liga account as Athletic Bilbao thrash Elche, Shina Oludare, Goal.com, 11 September 2022
  12. Nico Williams follows in brother Inaki footsteps after scoring for Athletic Bilbao at Elche, GhanaSoccernet, 14 September 2022
  13. "Williams brothers enjoy stirring send-off at Athletic after international calls | Sid Lowe". the Guardian. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  14. "La Selección Sub 18 llama a Nico Williams, hermano de Iñaki" [The Under 18 National Team calls Nico Williams, Iñaki's brother]. www.besoccer.com (in Spanish). 19 January 2020.
  15. "Nico Serrano y Nico Williams, convocados por la selección española sub-19" [Nico Serrano and Nico Williams, called up by the Spanish U19 team]. Athletic Club website (in Spanish). 16 February 2021.
  16. Vencedor and Nico Williams make their Spain Under-21 debuts Athletic Club official website, 3 September 2021
  17. Big blow for Ghana as Spain names Nico Williams in squad for September friendly matches, GhanaWeb, 16 September 2022
  18. "Iñaki Williams explains how he got his name and why Bilbao means so much to him". Diario AS. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  19. "Nico Williams: Spain U-17 coach tips Bilbao youngster for greatness". Footy Ghana. 1 June 2020.
  20. "Iñaki Williams: 'My parents crossed the desert barefoot to get to Spain'". Guardian. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  21. Río, Endika (10 February 2019). "El hermano de Iñaki Williams debuta con gol en el juvenil del Athletic" [Iñaki Williams's brother debuts with goal for Athletic youths]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  22. Abizanda, Jorge (31 January 2021). "El imparable ascenso de Nico Williams en el Athletic" [The unstoppable rise of Nico Williams at Athletic]. ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  23. Exclusive Interview With Nico Williams, retrieved 24 January 2023
  24. "N. Williams". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  25. "Nico Williams". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
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