Kyrian_Nwoko
Kyrian Nwoko
Maltese footballer
Kyrian Nwoko (born 4 July 1997) is a Maltese professional footballer who plays as a winger and forward for Floriana and the Malta national team. He has previously played for Maltese clubs St. Andrews & Valletta, as well as Irish club St Patrick's Athletic.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1997-07-04) 4 July 1997 (age 26) | ||
| Place of birth | Valletta, Malta | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger, forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Floriana | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2017 | St. Andrews | 82 | (14) |
| 2017–2021 | Valletta | 75 | (12) |
| 2021 | → St Patrick's Athletic (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2022– | Floriana | 26 | (1) |
| 2023 | → Saint Lucia (loan) | 8 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| Malta U17 | |||
| 2017– | Malta | 30 | (4) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 March 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November 2023 | |||
He is the son of the Nigerian-born former Malta international footballer Chucks Nwoko.[2]
In July 2014, Nwoko was linked with a possible transfer to English clubs Huddersfield Town and Crystal Palace.[3] He moved from St. Andrews to Valletta in June 2017.[2] In July 2021, he was linked with a move to NIFL Premiership side Linfield.[1] Following a transfer fee being agreed between the two clubs, the transfer was held up due to issues obtaining a work permit under new Brexit regulations.[4] On 27 July 2021, Valletta announced that they had agreed a deal with League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athletic for Nwoko to move on a 6-month loan deal with the option to make the transfer permanent.[5] The transfer was completed on 28 July 2021,[6] with Nwoko becoming the second striker to sign for the club on that day, after Reading's Nahum Melvin-Lambert.[7] Nwoko made his debut for the club on 30 July 2021, coming off the bench in the 87th minute of the Dublin derby away to Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium.[8] On 28 November 2021 Nwoko was an unused substitute in the 2021 FAI Cup Final, as his side defeated rivals Bohemians 4–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time in front of a record FAI Cup Final crowd of 37,126 at the Aviva Stadium.[9] On 31 August 2022, Nwoko returned to football after 9 months out of the game, returning to Malta and signing for Floriana.[10] On 27 January 2023, he signed for Saint Lucia on loan until the end of the season.[11]
He made two appearances for Malta at the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[12] He made his senior national team debut in November 2017 in the 0–3 defeat against Estonia.[13] On 23 March 2019, Nwoko scored his first goal in a 2–1 win over Faroe Islands, as Malta won their first competitive home match in 13 years.[14] In January 2022, Nwoko accused the Malta national team selectors of 'unfair' treatment over allegedly not being selected for the team due to his refusal to take a COVID-19 vaccine when the squad were asked to take a Johnson & Johnson vaccine in May 2021 ahead of their departure to a training camp in Austria.[15] In November 2022, Nwoko returned to the national team, accepting his call up for the friendly games against Greece and the Republic of Ireland.[16]
Club
- As of match played on 28 April 2023[17]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[lower-alpha 1] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| St. Andrews | 2013–14 | Maltese Challenge League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 5 | ||||
| 2015–16 | Maltese Premier League | 27 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 1 | 30 | 6 | ||
| 2016–17 | 31 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 82 | 14 | 4 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | 87 | 15 | |||
| Valletta | 2017–18 | Maltese Premier League | 26 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 4[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | — | 34 | 8 | |
| 2018–19 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | 29 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5[lower-alpha 6] | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 5] | 1 | 19 | 3 | ||
| 2020–21 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | — | 17 | 2 | |||
| Total | 75 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 99 | 15 | ||
| St Patrick's Athletic (loan) | 2021 | LOI Premier Division | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Floriana | 2022–23 | Maltese Premier League | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Saint Lucia (loan) | 2022–23 | Maltese Premier League | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 1[lower-alpha 7] | 1 | 10 | 3 | |
| Career total | 182 | 28 | 15 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 217 | 33 | ||
- Includes Maltese FA Trophy & FAI Cup
- Appearances in the Maltese Premier League Relegation Play-offs
- Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
- 2 appearances in the UEFA Champions League & 2 appearances in the UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in the Maltese Super Cup
- 4 appearances in the UEFA Champions League & 1 appearance in the UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in the 2022–23 Maltese Premier League Relegation play-offs
International
- As of match played 19 June 2023[13]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malta | 2017 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 4 | 1 | |
| Total | 25 | 4 | |
International goals
- Scores and results list Malta's goal tally first.[13]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 23 March 2019 | National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta |  Faroe Islands | 1–0 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
| 2. | 6 September 2020 |  Latvia | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League D | |
| 3. | 7 October 2020 |  Gibraltar | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | |
| 4. | 9 June 2023 | Stade de Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg |  Luxembourg | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
Valletta[17]
St Patrick's Athletic
- "Who is Kyrian Nwoko? All you need to know about the Malta striker set to sign for Linfield". Belfasttelegraph – via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
- "New Valletta FC signing". Valletta F.C. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- Doug Thomson (11 July 2014). "Huddersfield Town and Crystal Palace linked with Maltese youngster Kyrian Nwoko". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- "Linfield battling Brexit issues in quest to sign Malta striker Kyrian Nwoko". Belfasttelegraph – via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
- FC, Valletta. "Kyrian Nwoko joins St Patricks Athletic FC". Valletta FC.
- "Nwoko Signs On Loan". www.stpatsfc.com.
- Leahy, Ed (28 November 2021). "Benson spot on as Saints beat Bohs to lift the FAI Cup" – via www.rte.ie.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - "Floriana set to sign former Malta striker Kyrian Nwoko". Times of Malta.
- "Santa Lucia sign striker Kyrian Nwoko on loan from Floriana". Times of Malta. 27 January 2023.
- Kyrian Nwoko – UEFA competition record (archive)
- "Kyrian Nwoko". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
- Camilleri, Valhmor (23 March 2019). "Watch: Gutsy Malta see off Faroe Islands". Times of Malta. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- "28-man squad announced for November friendlies". mfa.com.mt.
- Kyrian Nwoko at Soccerway. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- Profile on Valletta FC