Kwadwo Duah, striker for Ludogorets in Bulgaria, scored for Switzerland against Hungary at the Euro in only his second match with the Swiss team.
He is a complete unknown to the general public, but undoubtedly also to a large number of football fans. During Switzerland’s 3-1 victory against Hungary at Euro 2024, Saturday June 15, Kwadwo Duah opened the scoring for the Nati in the 14th minute with a deep call on a wonderful pass from Michel Aebischer. This is the first national goal for this 27-year-old striker, whose first steps on the international scene date back… eleven days.
Before starting Switzerland’s entry into this European Championship, Kwadwo Duah only played one international match: it was on June 4 against Estonia (4-0). ). A friendly that he only played half, the coach Murat Yakin having taken him out at half-time like four other of his teammates. His performance did not make an impression. “Apart from one alert, it remained transparent,” recalled the Swiss newspaper Tribune de Genève.
“It’s a dream come true for me. It’s all a bit surreal. It comes out of nowhere. In recent years I’ve always scored well, but I’ve never been called up,” said the person. , who we know on a personal level is a big fan of comics.
“The statistics speak for themselves”
In mid-May, when a pre-list of 38 players was announced, few observers predicted that he would escape the downsizing. “The simple fact of having been selected in the provisional framework is a success,” said the media Blick. While the offensive sector includes Breel Embolo from AS Monaco, Noah Okafor from AC Milan and Zeki Amdouni from Burnley, Kwadwo Duah plays… in Bulgaria. He has in fact been under contract at Ludogorets since last summer, following a 3 million euro transfer from Nuremberg.
On paper, his statistics are nothing exceptional: 15 goals and 6 assists in 37 matches with the Bulgarian team. In the Europa Conference League, only one small goal against the modest Spartak Trnava of Slovakia, and nothing against the Swiss Servette FC in the final phase play-offs. “The statistics speak for themselves,” said Murat Yakin, noting that no other Swiss striker has done better than Kwadwo Duah with a first division team. Which had to be put into perspective given the level of the Bulgarian championship. Except that the Swiss tank in attack is poor and that the figures already present are not satisfactory. For example: Breel Embolo, long injured, only played five Ligue 1 matches; Noah Okafor, in Milan for a year, has only scored six times.
So here is Kwadwo Duah rewarded, in the middle of an adventurous career, which began at Young Boys and which has already taken him through eight clubs without ever posting remarkable figures. A winding journey reflecting his life and his origins: his parents are Ghanaian and he was born in London.
