After beating Turkey, the Netherlands have reached their first European Championship semi-final in 20 years. Joker Wout Weghorst played a big part in this.
He spread his arms in front of the orange fan curve in Berlin's Olympic Stadium and let himself be celebrated. Wout Weghorst did not provide an assist or score a goal in the Netherlands' 2:1 victory over Turkey. And yet the 31-year-old striker was, if not the match-winner, at least the game-changer in the European Championship quarter-final.
The missing element
After a very weak first half for his team, Bonds coach Ronald Koeman reacted during the break. He changed his tactics, took off the bustling winger Steven Bergwijn and, as so often before, brought Weghorst into the game when the Dutch lacked something. At 197 centimetres tall and with the header power to match, the striker, who was loaned to Hoffenheim from Burnley last season, brought exactly the element to the game that the Dutch had been lacking until then.
Weghorst took the corner that led to the equalizer and cleverly kept his opponent away from goalscorer Stefan de Vrij in the decisive scene. He not only had a hand in the winning goal, but also made one extreme defensive save against the pressing Turks in the final phase.
Praise from his teammates
"He definitely helped a lot," said defender Nathan Aké about his teammate: "It's a nightmare when you play against him. He's strong, he's a nuisance in the penalty area and he fights for everything, he runs after everything. He's a great asset for us." Cody Gakpo, who was at the origin of the winning goal, echoed similar sentiments: "He's big, he's good in the air, he fights for every ball that flies into the penalty area."
It is actually surprising that Koeman has never started the striker from the beginning, although it is obvious that the Dutch are much more flexible with him. Weghorst did not want to go into his coach's tactical and personnel considerations after the game. He preferred to celebrate exuberantly in front of and with the fans and said later: "These are moments for life, this is madness and pure joy."
It remains to be seen whether Koeman will start with the striker in the semi-final against England in Dortmund on Wednesday or whether he will bring him on again as a wild card. Weghorst certainly made his case for a first-time starting berth against Turkey.
SDA
