Mainoo, Williams, Depay - Performance statistics of players of Ghanaian descent at Euro 2024

GhanaWeb feature by: Benjamin Sackey

Players of Ghanaian descent shone brightly and entertained fans with their football artistry at the 2024 European Championship, hosted in Germany.

The tournament commenced on Friday, June 14, and ended on Sunday, July 14, 2024, showcasing electrifying performances from various teams featuring players of Ghanaian descent.

La Roja of Spain emerged victorious, thanks to the excellent performances from Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal, and other players, defeating England 2-1 in the finals.

This GhanaWeb feature explores the performance of players with Ghanaian roots who have naturalized for other national teams in Europe.

Netherlands: Memphis Depay, Jeremie Frimpong, Cody Gakpo, and Brian Brobbey

Depay, a former Manchester United forward, debuted internationally in 2013. Frimpong, born to Ghanaian parents, has played for the Netherlands at various youth levels and made his senior debut in 2021.

Gakpo, with Ghanaian roots through his father, debuted in the Netherlands squad at UEFA Euro 2020. Brobbey has represented the Netherlands at U17 and U19 levels, recently earning his first senior call-up in October 2023.

England: Kobbie Mainoo

The promising young Manchester United midfielder represented England at U17 and U18 levels. Despite strong interest from the Ghanaian FA, Mainoo chose to play for the Three Lions.

Mainoo began the tournament at a slow pace but ended up becoming a regular starter for the Three Lions when they reached the knockout phase.

Spain: Nico Williams

The Athletic Bilbao star and brother of Inaki Williams, who plays for Ghana, was one of the bright stars at the tournament. Nico debuted for Spain in 2022 and participated in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but it was the 2024 Euros that really showcased him to the rest of the world.

Austria: Kevin Danso

The RC Lens defender began his career in Austria’s youth teams and made his senior debut in 2017. Danso was a pillar in defense for the Austrians.

Switzerland: Kwadwo Duah

The forward was recently named in Switzerland's final squad. He was born in London and plays alongside Ghanaian winger Bernard Tekpetey at Ludogorets in Bulgaria. Kwadwo Duah had a tournament to remember with the Swiss.

Here are the EURO 2024 statistics for the players:

Nico Williams

6 matches played

2 goals

1 assist

35.8 top speed (km/h)

0 yellow cards

11 attempts

89.67% passing accuracy

54.53 km distance covered

Kobbie Mainoo

6 matches played

370 minutes played

52.86 avg. per match

0 goals

0 assists

92.5% passing accuracy

30.5 top speed (km/h)

Memphis Depay

6 matches played

461 minutes played

76.84 avg. per match

1 goal

0.17 avg. per match

18 total attempts

3 avg. per match

1 assist

0.17 avg. per match

75% passing accuracy

32 top speed (km/h)

30.52 avg. per match

52.24 km distance covered

8.17 avg. per match

Cody Gakpo

6 matches played

525 minutes played

87.5 avg. per match

3 goals

0.5 avg. per match

12 total attempts

2 avg. per match

1 assist

0.17 avg. per match

78.84% passing accuracy

32.8 top speed (km/h)

31.42 avg. per match

55.68 km distance covered

8.5 avg. per match

Kevin Danso

3 matches played

211 minutes played

52.75 avg. per match

0 goals

4 tackles

1 avg. per match

16 balls recovered

4 avg. per match

87.34% passing accuracy

33.3 top speed (km/h)

31.24 avg. per match

24.46 km distance covered

Jeremie Frimpong

3 matches played

85 minutes played

14.17 avg. per match

0 goals

2 tackles

0.34 avg. per match

2 balls recovered

0.34 avg. per match

96.67% passing accuracy

35.21 top speed (km/h)

34 avg.

Kwadwo Duah

Matches played: 3

Minutes played: 106

Average minutes per match: 21.2

Goals: 1

Average goals per match: 0.2

Total attempts: 4

Average attempts per match: 0.8

Assists: 0

Passing accuracy: 73.34%

Top speed: 31.2 km/h

Average speed per match: 28.87 km/h

Distance covered: 12.36 km

Average distance covered per match: 2.21 km

Yellow cards: 0

SB/OGB