Netherlands have managed to come from behind to beat Poland in their EURO 2024 Group D opener. Ronald Koeman’s men needed Wout Weghorst to score in the final minutes to seal the win.
Adam Buksa headed home the first goal of the match for Poland with a header from a corner in the 16th minute of the match. However, Cody Gakpo and Weghorst scored to ensure that their side managed to leave Volksparkstadion with all three points.
Poland vs Netherlands Highlights
15′ – YELLOW CARD: Joey Veerman goes into the book for a foul on Sebastian Szymanski.
16′ – GOAL! Adam Buksa scores from a corner to give Poland the lead. The striker’s header from inside the six-yard box was enough to take it past the Dutch keeper.
27′ – ATTEMPTS MISSED: Denzel Dumfries and Tijjani Reijnders come close to scoring for Netherlands but they have their headers blocked inside the six-yard box.
29′ – GOAL! Cody Gakpo has a shot from outside the box but the ball deflects off the Polish defenders and leaves Szczesny wrong-footed. The Netherlands are level after their constant pressure.
32′ – SAVED: Jakub Kiwior comes close to getting Poland ahead again, but it was easily saved.
83′ – GOAL! Wout Weghorst scores with his first touch just two minutes after coming on for The Netherlands. The Dutch have taken the lead for the first time in the match with just seven minutes of normal time plus added time left.
90′ + 6′ – SAVED: Nicola Zalewski takes an ambitious shot from long-range but Bart Verbruggen gets a strong hand to it and saves to help his side win the game.
Also Read: Poland vs Netherlands Player Ratings: Cody Gakpo Steals the Show
Key Stats
- Wout Weghorst has now scored nine goals in 439 minutes for the Netherlands since the start of last season. He averages a goal every 63 minutes!
- The Netherlands coming from behind to win makes it the second time a team has done it at EURO 2024 (after Italy vs Albania yesterday) – equalling the number of such comebacks in the EURO 2020 Group Stage.
- The Dutch had 21 shots against Poland – their most at a major tournament since registering 32 against Denmark in 2012.
- Since losing all their matches at EURO 2012, The Netherlands are unbeaten in all their group stage matches at all major tournaments – 9 wins and a draw.
Key Moment
Ronald Koeman bringing on Wout Weghorst is easily the moment of the match. The Dutchman scored with his first touch of the match and that helped them get the goal to seal all three points.
Player Of the Match- Cody Gakpo
Cody Gakpo has to be the match of the match today as he was relentless on the pitch. The Dutchman got the all-important goal to get his side level in the first half. It would have been a mountain to climb if he had not scored as they were creating chances but were unable to finish until the moment he found the back of the net.
The forward was also doing his best to create chances and managed to make three key passes in the game. Unfortunately, none of his brilliant passes resulted in a good finish.
Conclusion:
The Netherlands are getting themselves saved by Wout Weghorst time and again after the striker comes on in the final minutes. Is it time for the Dutchman to start ahead of Memphis Depay or should he remain a super-sub? A big question for Ronald Koeman to work on.
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