- Switzerland secured an opening Euro 2024 victory by beating Hungary 3-1
- First half strikes from Kwadwo Duah and Michel Aebischer were the difference
- LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! Why this could be Spain’s next Golden Generation
For London-born Kwadwo Duah, this was the stuff of dreams. Having only made his Switzerland debut last Tuesday and with just 45 minutes of international experience, under-pressure Switzerland boss Murat Yakin put his faith in the 27-year-old to lead the line and within 12 minutes, he delivered with the most assured of finishes for his first international goal.
Duah’s pure elation on his face told the story on an afternoon in Cologne where Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka ran the show and credited the time that he has spent working on his UEFA A coaching license for ‘giving him the impetus to read the game differently.’
His side came out as deserved winners thanks to further goals from Michel Aebischer and Breel Embolo either side of Barnabas Varga pulling one back for Hungary.
Three years ago, Switzerland knocked out France before losing to Spain in the quarter-final and they will return here on Wednesday knowing that a win against Scotland would all but secure qualification for the round-of-16.
And Xhaka, who admitted that he was surprised by how poor Scotland were on Friday night, said that he expects a reaction from Steve Clarke’s side, who know that defeat would in all likelihood signal the end of their tournament.
Switzerland scored twice in the first half before adding a third in stoppage time to beat Hungary 3-1 in Cologne on Saturday afternoon
London-born Kwadwo Duah (right) opened the scoring for Switzerland after just 12 minutes
Liverpool’s Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai (left) struggled to make an impact as Switzerland took an early lead
In this battle of two teams tipped as potential tournament dark-horses, both knew that in the aftermath of Scotland’s mauling against Germany, a win would put them in a strong position.
Hungary arrived in excellent form, having gone unbeaten in qualifying and Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai became the youngest captain in the history of the European Championship at just 23 while Xhaka – fresh from doing the league and cup double with Bayer Leverkusen in Germany – led a Switzerland side that had the likes of Yann Sommer, Manuel Akanji and Fabian Schar.
Twelve minutes in, Akanji found Aebischer in the final third and the Bologna midfielder threaded a lovely delivery through the Hungarian backline to Duah, who converted with such composure that you would be forgiven for refusing to believe that this was only his second international cap.
Having scored 13 goals for Ludogorets Razgrad in Bulgaria, Duah was selected ahead of Monaco’s Embolo and Burnley’s Zeki Amdouni, with Xherdan Shaqiri left on the bench in a call that raised eyebrows before kick-off but was justified within the opening quarter of an hour.
Michel Aebischer (right) doubled Switzerland’s lead on the stroke of half time with a powerful shot from outside the box
Hungary striker Barnabas Varga (middle) pounced on confusion in the box to bundle a header over the line
Breel Embolo (left) denied Hungary any hopes of a comeback by scoring deep into added time
‘He (Duah) is a player we know well in Switzerland,’ said Yakin. ‘Now, the rest of Europe knows. We know how well he moves in the box. He is a great player,’ the Switzerland boss added.
Switzerland got a second on the brink of half-time when Aebischer curled the ball wonderfully into the far corner from outside the box for his first international goal.
It was the least they deserved and a reminder for Hungary to switch things up, who began the second half with a more attacking approach.
Varga headed wide from a golden opportunity yet minutes later, scored a diving header from a delightful Szoboszlai cross to set up an exciting finish.
Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka (right) was influential in spurring on Switzerland
Switzerland manager Murat Yakin was delighted as his side secured a dominant victory
The vastly outnumbered Hungarian fans behind the Swiss goal began to bounce as their side hunted for a leveller with Italian coach Marco Rossi sending another striker on in 6ft 3in Martin Adam while Yakin sent on Embolo and Amdouni in a bid to finish the game off.
And it was Embolo – who has been out for most of the season with an ACL injury – who had the final say, losing his knee brace as he ran through on goal before calmly lobbing the ball over Gulacsi to send the Swiss supporters in the Kurve Schweiz into ecstasy.