It may not have shown on the scoresheet, but target man Wout Weghorst was key to the Netherlands reaching the Euro 2024 semi-finals.
The Netherlands came from behind to beat Turkey 2-1 in a tense quarter-final match in Berlin on Saturday, with the rugged Burnley striker coming off the bench to give them the advantage.
Turkey, buoyed by a rapturous Olympiastadion crowd, were comfortably leading 1-0 at half-time but manager Ronald Koeman took a gamble and exercised his wild-card option.
Weghorst captured the footballing world’s attention when he came on as a substitute in the 2022 World Cup quarter-final against Argentina and scored two stunning goals, and he continues to be dominant in that role.
The 6-foot-6, 31-year-old striker came off the bench and scored a stunning goal to lead the Netherlands to a 2-1 win over Poland in their opening Europa League match.
Koeman only played Weghorst for 44 minutes in each of the Netherlands’ opening four matches but gave him the full 45 minutes against Turkey, which paid off as the team advanced to the semi-finals against England.
Soon the Netherlands had their sights on the box and a drifting Memphis Depay denied the Netherlands a chance to score until Weghorst came on.
“(Weghorst) creates chaos in the penalty area and forces the opposition to defend more, so I think Wout contributed a lot,” Dutch defender Nathan Ake said.
“He’s a nightmare to play against. He’s powerful, he’s a nuisance in the box, he’s against everything, he’s got the run in for everything, so he’s a massive asset for us.”
Weghorst, who has been on loan at Hoffenheim this season, caused a stir in Turkey’s previously solid defence.
A Weghorst shot was saved by Mert Gunok for a corner which the Netherlands used to level the score, Stefan de Vrij heading in Depay’s cross.
With Turkey’s defence struggling to contain Weghorst, the Netherlands struck again six minutes later when Mert Mardur, under pressure from Kody Gakpo, tipped a sharp ball from Denzel Dumfries into his own goal.
“We started quite well but after 20 minutes things changed and they had the upper hand,” Koeman explained.
“Then the substitution with Wout was clear to me. We had to put Cody on the wing and Denzel on the right and get more crosses in than we did in the first half.”
– “Wout might be wout” –
Liverpool winger Gakpo, who led the Netherlands in goalscoring and was the tournament’s top scorer with three goals in Germany, paid tribute to Weghorst’s huge influence off the bench.
“It’s a different situation… I wanted to take advantage of a few more chances in this game so I brought on Wout because he is tall, good in the air and he is bold with every ball that comes into the penalty area,” Gakpo told reporters.
“So we tried that at the start of the second half, we put in some good crosses and then the Turkish side dropped back a bit more and I think we played a bit better.”
“Maybe that was the key today. I’m just happy that Wout was being Wout today. It’s great.”
The Netherlands next face England, a country where Weghorst has struggled to make much of an impact.
He moved from Wolfsburg to Burnley in 2022 but managed just two goals in 20 games as the team was relegated from the Premier League.
His half-season loan move to Manchester United ended without a goal in 17 top-flight appearances, so making an impact against the Three Lions would bring him extra satisfaction.
Koeman had said earlier in the tournament that Weghorst has “that English quality” and would definitely be an option to start, although he is yet to start.
Given his ability to make the difference as a Plan B, Koeman may want to keep him on the bench when the 1988 winners face Dortmund on Wednesday in their first Euros semi-final since 2004.
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