KWADWO DUAH’S journey to a Euros quarter final is hardly a well-trodden path.
Born in London to Ghanaian parents, he moved to Switzerland at the age of two to forge a football career before ripping it up in Bulgaria last season at Ludogorets with 15 goals.
A shock Swiss call-up in May saw the striker make his senior international debut a month later.
No one believed he would actually make Murat Yakin’s final Euro 2024 squad, let alone start their opener against Hungary and score in the 12th minute on just his second appearance.
At 27, he is making up for lost time, and what a way to do it by helping Switzerland knock out England in Dusseldorf on Saturday to reach a first major tournament semi in the country’s history.
Islington-born Duah said: “That goal against Hungary changed everything.
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“It was a big moment for me and my family. To score the first goal for Switzerland in a Euros, not everyone does that.
“It was beautiful. I’m very proud to wear this jersey – to play for Switzerland was a big goal for me.”
In a parallel universe, maybe he could have been lining for Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions.
Having started in the 3-1 group stage win over the Hungarians, Duah has come off the bench in two of their last three games with first choice forward Breel Embolo now fully up to speed after recovering from knee surgery and likely to keep his place.
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It will not make this occasion any less special, even if he suggests facing England carries no extra significance despite his upbringing and love of the Premier League.
He revealed: “I would say I am a big Chelsea fan. My idol is Didier Drogba.”
And like most Blues supporters, Duah is also surprised by the lack of game time for Cole Palmer out in Germany, playing just 43 minutes in the tournament so far.
Duah added: “[Palmer] was very, very good last season, so yeah, I’m also thinking: ‘Why is he not playing?’ because his stats were perfect. Let’s see if he starts on Saturday.”
Fluent in four languages, Duah is a quiet but confident man, and one day dreams of playing in Serie A, falling in love with Italy while on vacations there during the off-season.
DUAH’S CAREER
THE 27-year-old striker is on his eighth club
2016-19 – Young Boys
2017 – Neuchatel Xamax (loan)
2017-18 – Winterthur (loan)
2018-19 – Servette (loan)
2019-20 – Wil
2020-22 – St Gallen
2022-23 – Nurnberg
2023 – Ludogorets
2024 – Switzerland (4 caps, 1 goal)
His pre-match ritual on the team bus usually consists of reading comics.
He explained: “I’m a big fan. Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse. It’s an unusual hobby but it calms me down.”
For now, the focus is on reaching the Euros semis, with either Holland or Turkey awaiting them, and Duah is sure that England will not take this Swiss lot lightly after earning a 1-1 draw against hosts Germany in the groups and beating Italy 2-0 in the last 16.
He said: “They watched the game against Italy. We were pretty good, so I don’t think they will underestimate us. We want to show what we can. We want to do our game.
“We expect to face a very good team with big names. In the end, they did a good job to beat Slovakia [in the last 16].”
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Duah is looking forward to coming up against England’s “world class” talisman in Jude Bellingham, fresh off his stunning 95th minute overhead kick equaliser against the Slovaks.
But Duah believes Xherdan Shaqiri’s long-range screamer for the Swiss against Scotland in the group stages was better. He argued: “It was more difficult and it was probably more beautiful.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
