The first English-born player to score at the Euro 2024 plays for Switzerland, who take on England for a place in the semi-finals on Saturday.
When Kwadwo Duah netted against Hungary on the second day of the tournament, it was only his second shot for Switzerland and just his second international match.
For the striker, who spent the early years of his life in Islington and now plays his football in Bulgaria, it was quite the moment less than an hour into his international career.
Growing up as a Chelsea fan, Duah said his idol is Didier Drogba and it was a goal that the former Chelsea striker would have enjoyed as the 27-year-old used his pace to get in behind before a composed finish.
At Switzerland’s base on the outskirts of Stuttgart on Wednesday, Duah revealed that the role of another Chelsea player in England’s squad has surprised him, with Cole Palmer limited to just two appearances off the bench, despite a Premier League campaign where he scored 22 goals and got 11 assists.
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‘Cole Palmer has had a very good season and I’m thinking why is he not playing because his stats were perfect in the Premier League,’ said Duah.
Yet despite his English links, Duah denied that he felt any emotional connection towards Gareth Southgate’s side and warned that it would be foolish for England to underestimate Switzerland, even though they have never reached a semi-final at a major tournament.
‘They (England) will have watched our game against Italy and we were pretty good so I don’t think they will (underestimate us). We want to show what we can do,’ Duah insisted.
He is fluent in at least four languages and was a shock inclusion in the Switzerland squad, given the fact that he plays for Ludogorets Razgrad in Bulgaria.
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Duah turned down an approach from Ghana in 2022 and was highlighted by Giorgio Contini, the Swiss assistant coach who was a striker himself.
After keeping a watchful eye, manager Murat Yakin picked him in the 26-man squad in May, with even Duah admitting that ‘it came out of nowhere.’
And Ghana’s loss is turning out to be Switzerland’s gain, with Duah playing in three of Switzerland’s four games in Germany
‘I was born in London but we don’t have family there anymore,’ revealed Duah. ‘My mum and dad were in Ghana but they had an opportunity to go to England because it offered a better life. Then they got an even better opportunity to come to Switzerland, when I was two, so they took it,’ he added.
And though Duah is likely to start on the bench, given his versatility up front, he is expected to feature at some point in Düsseldorf.
But before that, he will prepare by reading comic books. ‘It’s an unusual hobby but it calms me down. I like to read them on the team bus,’ said Duah, a few years ago.
Asked again on Wednesday, Duah responded: ‘I’m a very big fan of Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and stuff.’
Time to see then if he can use fiction to make Swiss dreams a reality.