Huddersfield Town’s newest international ‘ready’ for major tournament challenge
The highly versatile Charles Ondo made his debut for Equatorial Guinea over the international break before returning to play for the Terriers B team on Wednesday night
The Terriers have not been without their difficulties over the past 12 months, but you won’t find many players in the camp who have enjoyed such an unequivocally positive year on the pitch as Charles Ondo.
Versatile to the extent of being able to play either in defence or as a forward, Ondo featured twice for the Huddersfield Town first team last season, coming off the bench against Hull City in October last year to make his first-ever senior appearance and then following that up with another substitute outing against Rotherham the following week
That earned him recognition at international level with Equatorial Guinea: although born in Madrid and raised in London, Ondo qualifies for the central African country via his parents. After receiving two prior call-ups without making an appearance, the 19 year old made his debut in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying game last week.
That puts Ondo in with a shout of heading to the competition finals in January, with Equatorial Guinea having already qualified before this latest round of international fixtures.
Read more: Why Huddersfield Town could lose players to international call-ups in middle of new season
Ondo told the club’s YouTube channel: “We’re ready for it coming up to the Africa Cup of Nations in January. There’s a team spirit all the time and great vibes – it was a great experience, especially making my debut as well.
“[My parents] are very proud – I got back and checked my phone and everyone was posting and everything. It was great experience.”
His more recent outings for the Terriers B team have tended to be wide of a front three, which is precisely where he started for Jon Worthington’s side in Wednesday evening’s 1-1 Premier League Cup draw with Newcastle United.
Ondo added of that game: “I feel like we should have won – we should have taken our chances in the first half. A goal would have had us ready for the second half. Our work ethic, we did well and worked for each other – we were just a bit unlucky.”
