Wout Weghorst changes the game to send Netherlands past Turkey to Euro 2024 semi-final with England

For the second time in two days, the home team went out of Euro 2024. If Germany are the hosts, the Turkish diaspora had made Berlin feel as if it stood on the banks of the Bosphorus. They were little more than 20 minutes from a semi-final in Dortmund which, given the Ruhr’s vast Turkish population, could have seemed like another home game.

But then came the Dutch comeback. The Netherlands eliminated the West German hosts in Euro ’88. They silenced the Turkish locals in Euro 2024. Two goals in seven minutes set up a showdown with England and takes Ronald Koeman closer to the double of winning the European Championship as player and manager.

A first semi-final for the Netherlands in a decade represents an achievement for Koeman, a manager whose selections and tactical nous have been questioned during this tournament. A fightback could be traced to his half-time decision to deploy his Plan B earlier than usual and bring on Wout Weghorst. Just as in the 2022 World Cup quarter-final against Argentina, Weghorst changed the game. This time, the giant substitute scored neither goal but a shift in tactics, to delivering more balls into the box, yielded both.

The cruelty for Turkey’s Mert Mulder was that his own goal proved decisive. A curiosity of Turkey’s campaign has been that their defenders have scored six goals: four for them, two against. Samet Akaydin, who was responsible for the first own goal, opened his international account at the right end, threatening to send Turkey through to just a third semi-final in their history.

open image in gallery

Then the Weghorst effect started to tell. When Mert Gunok pushed the striker’s volley past the far post, it brought a corner. Memphis Depay chipped it in and Stefan de Vrij headed it in. A first international goal for nine years was well-timed. It also proved that Turkey’s strength could also be their undoing: for the second successive game, they both scored and conceded from set-pieces.

And crosses proved the Netherlands’ salvation. When Denzel Dumfries’s low centre reached the far post and Cody Gakpo got behind Mulder, the right-back’s desperate attempts to stop him only resulted in him prodding the ball into his own net.

Not that the drama ended there. Turkey had to effect a switch from concentrating on defence to frantically searching for an equaliser. They did and another of Koeman’s substitutes had a huge impact: Micky van de Ven made a brilliant block to deny the Turkish replacement Zeki Celik an equaliser. Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen turned rescuer, too, with an injury-time save from Kerem Akturkoglu. Weghorst made an invaluable block from Kaan Ayhan.

open image in gallery

All of which meant that, if there was a sterile feel to a couple of quarter-finals, this was frenzied and ferocious. Even when Turkey looked passive in their 5-4-1 formation, they defended with a ferocious commitment. They may wonder if the absence of the suspended Merih Demiral cost them, given his 17 clearances against Austria, especially when De Vrij was left unchecked. Yet for the most part, the former striker Vincenzo Montella had his defence expertly configured.

In any case, Turkey welcomed Akaydin back from a ban of his own. His eventful tournament continued. Even without, some of the formula remained the same: Arda Guler’s delivery from the flanks and a finish from a centre-back in the six-yard box.

Virgil van Dijk headed a corner away, but only to Guler. The teenager’s set-piece delivery had brought two goals against Austria. Now his crossing added another. He curled a ball to the far post, Bart Verbruggen’s decision to come for the cross leaving him in no-man’s land, and Akaydin headed past him.

open image in gallery

It came after a start when the Dutch had possession and territorial advantage, but precious few chances. And as Turkey looked to counterattack at pace when they got the ball, Guler was outstanding, delivering a performance of great intelligence and a preternatural maturity.

His elusiveness offered intrigue: a false nine, looking to release runners past him, meaning the Dutch defence often had no one to mark. The one time he threatened to run behind the Dutch defence, Nathan Ake had to foul him, at a cost of a booking. From 26 yards, Guler hit the foot of the post from the resulting free kick.

A teenager has emerged as one of the players of the tournament; a reason, too, why this should not be a one-off for Turkey, the team ranked 42nd in the world but who nearly reached the last four. When they harness momentum and talent, they can look formidable. Yet the fervour of the support can be matched by a tendency to overreact. They ended their tournament with a record number of cards; the last, for unused substitute Bertug Yildiram, was a red. But it will be the orange of the Netherlands that will be seen in Dortmund on Wednesday. And for that, they can thank the ungainly, unfashionable game-changer, Wout Weghorst.