Dutch supersub Weghorst scores winner against Poland

June 16 – A goal in the 83rd minute by Dutch supersub Wout Weghorst was enough to dispatch Poland and kickstart the Netherlands campaign.

In front of the massed ranks of orange-clad fans in Hamburg, it was the Poles that opened the scoring through Adam Buska in the 16th minute, but their lead only lasted 14 minutes before Cody Gakpo equalised.

With the clock ticking into the final 10 minutes it was the arrival of Weghorst and a repeat of his World Cup late scoring heroics that sealed the game.

The pre-match talk had been about the missing Robert Lewandowski for Poland and the Dutch creative genius Frenkie de Jong. Both sides missed their talismen and that final edge in front of goal, but it was nevertheless an entertaining game that will be more pleasing for Ronald Koeman’s ambitions.

At the World Cup in 2022 the Netherlands exited at the round of 16, losing to Argentina on penalties. They felt they could have gone further and come into this tournament, after a tricky qualifying campaign, quietly confident and with a team expectant on its youth to step up.

Adam Buksa opened the scoring for Poland against the run of play

To a large degree they did but it still needed the old warhorse Weghorst to make the difference.

The Dutch set the tone from the start, controlling possession in the Polish half, pushing and probing a deep sitting Polish rearguard. Gakpo tested Wojciech Sczczesny low at his right post early.

It took until the 14th minute for the Polish to manage to get a foothold on the ball and in the game, winning a corner on the left. Buksa rose above a static Dutch defense to meet Piotr Zielinski’s corner and angle his header across the goal and past Bart Verbruggen.

Game on. The Dutch reasserted themselves and their pressure inside the Polish half searching for a quick equaliser.

In the 20th minute a Joey Veerman corner was met by Virgil van Dyke’s boot in the box drawing a smart reaction save from Sczczesny. A minute later Memphis Depay…

Source link : https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2024/06/16/dutch-supersub-weghorst-scores-winner-poland/

Author : Paul Nicholson

Publish date : 2024-06-16 15:45:34

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