Noah Okafor was on target as Switzerland beat Bulgaria 4-0 to clinch an automatic ticket to Qatar 2022 ahead of European champions and group favorites Italy.
The young forward headed home Xherdan Shaqiri's cross three minutes into the second half, his first International for Murat Yakin’s side.
Speaking after the game, Okafor said he was excited to be among the goalscorers, and was already looking forward to a good tournament with Switzerland.
''I gave everything, went all in. My first national team goal is great, but I'm happier that we are going to the World Cup. We were great as a team against Italy — and again today. We knew we had to score many goals.
''I am incredibly proud of our performance, our team, and our country. And now we are celebrating and enjoying this moment. It is now important to stay fit and carry on like in the last few months, always give everything and stay humble.
''I'm hot for the World Cup. I'm really looking forward to it. And I'm 100 percent convinced that the future will be a good one," he said.
Here are eight notable facts about the Nigerian-Swiss hero
- Born on the 24th May 2000 in Binningen, a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Landschaft in Switzerland. His father is Nigerian, while his mother is Swiss.
- Okafor began his career with FC Arisdorf's academy before moving to FC Basel, where he signed his first professional contract with his club.
- He made his professional debut for their first team on 19 May 2018 in the home game against FC Luzern.
- After two years with Basel, Okafor got a transfer to Austrian giants FC Salzburg in a €5.2 million deal. He signed his contract on January 31st, 2020.
- Okafor has played 58 league games for Salzburg, and found the back of the net 11 times.
- He got his first UEFA Champions League brace in Salzburg 3-1 win over Wolfsburg on the 20th of October 2020.
- Okafor played for the Switzerland U-17, U18 and U19 national teams, before making his senior national team debut on June 9, 2019. He came on in the 113th minute for Haris Seferovic in the 2019 UEFA Nations League third place game against England.
- Okafor scored his first international goal for Switzerland on 15 November 2021, in their World Cup qualifying game against Bulgaria.
Style of play
Okafor is a special talent, who is blessed with skills and pace. He's an exciting striker known for his composure on the ball and silky smooth dribbling.
Finally, The Salzburg forward is one of the youngsters tipped to light up the FIFA World Cup in Qatar next year.
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Olawale Quadry is a Mass Communication graduate, creative writer and pundit with eight years of experience and deep knowledge of Nigerian sports. He has previously written for SL10, South Africa, TribaI Football and Opera News. Follow him on Twitter @QualityQuadry
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