His name may not be on the scoreboard, but the key to the Netherlands’ progress at Euro 2024, and their run to the semi-finals, is striker Wout Weghorst.
After falling behind by a goal in the first half in a tense quarter-final at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on Saturday, the Netherlands managed to turn the result around against Turkey thanks to substitute Weghorst.
The player who has played every match since the start of the tournament but from the bench, and scored the winning goal against Poland two minutes after entering in the 81st minute in the first round, was the trump card for coach Ronald Koeman.
In fact, Weghorst has always stuck to this role. The player who sits on the bench, and comes on when his team needs him. He did it against Argentina in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals when he came on and scored two goals in a match that “the Windmills” lost on penalties.
The 31-year-old Burnley striker had only played 44 minutes in the first four games, but Koeman gave him 45 minutes against Turkey. It was a decision that proved to be the right one.
After entering, his teammates had a player in the penalty area to whom they could send the ball, in light of the captain Memphis Depay’s constant exit from the penalty area.
“Because of Weghorst she creates more chaos in the box and they have to defend more, so I think Wout helped a lot,” said defender Nathan Ake.
“Playing against him is a nightmare. He is strong, annoying in the box and fights for everything. He runs towards everything. So for us he is a big plus,” he added.
After coming on in the second half, Weghorst, who spent the season on loan with German side Hoffenheim, caused tension for the Turkish defenders.
His shot, saved by goalkeeper Mert Gunok, led to the Netherlands winning a corner kick, after which Stefan de Vrij headed home Depay’s cross.
With the Turkish defence trying to restrict Weghorst’s movement, the Netherlands were able to add a second goal after Turkish defender Mert Moldur, who tried to harass Cody Gakpo, was forced to follow the ball into his own goal by mistake. “We started well but things changed after 20 minutes, (after that) they took control,” Koeman said.
“Later on it was clear to me to bring on Wout. With Gakpo on the left wing and Denzel Dumfries on the right, we had more crosses than in the first half,” he added.
- English potential
Gakpo leads the continental tournament’s scoring charts with three goals, along with Georgia’s George Mikotadze, Germany’s Jamal Musiala and Slovakia’s Ivan Szczerans, but he praised Weghorst’s influence from the bench.
He said: “It is different with him in this match when we want to play in a way that takes advantage of more opportunities. You can bring on Wout because he is tall (1.97m), good in aerial challenges and fights for every ball that reaches the penalty area.”
“So that’s what we tried at the beginning of the second half. We played some good crosses and then we saw the Turkish team retreat a little bit, so we can play better.”
“Maybe that was the key today (Saturday). I’m very happy that Wout was able to be Wout. Fantastic,” the Liverpool striker added.
The Netherlands next play England, a country where Weghorst has struggled to establish himself. He joined Burnley from Wolfsburg in 2022 but has scored just two goals in 20 appearances for the team that was relegated from the Premier League.
He played half a season on loan at Manchester United but failed to score in 17 games, so putting himself forward against the Three Lions may give him some satisfaction after the failure in England.
Koeman has previously said Weghorst has “English potential” and was an option to start, although that has not happened yet.
The coach may prefer to keep his difference-making striker on the bench again as an alternative option in the Netherlands’ first European Cup semi-final since 2004, on Wednesday in Dortmund.