Weghorst emerges as Dutch wildcard ahead of Euros semi

The scoresheet may not reflect it but the key to the Netherlands' progress to the Euro 2024 semi-finals was target man Wout Weghorst.

The Dutch came from behind to beat Turkey 2-1 in Berlin on Saturday in a tense quarter-final, with the balance tipped in their favour by the burly Burnley striker's appearance from the bench.

With Turkey comfortably sitting 1-0 up at half-time fervently backed by raucous support at the Olympiastadion, Ronald Koeman rolled the dice and called for his wildcard option.

Weghorst burst into football's global consciousness with a stunning brace as a substitute against Argentina in the 2022 World Cup quarter-final and is still devastating in that role.

The 31-year-old six-foot-six striker rescued the Netherlands a 2-1 win over Poland in their Euros opener with a well-taken goal off the bench.

Koeman restricted Weghorst to 44 minutes across the Netherlands' opening four matches but gave him a full 45 against Turkey and it paid dividends, as the team booked a semi-final date with England.

Instantly the Dutch had a target to aim for in the box, with Memphis Depay's drifting denying them a focal point until Weghorst's appearance.

"Because of (Weghorst) you create a little bit more chaos in the box and they have to defend more, so I think Wout helped a lot," said Dutch defender Nathan Ake.

"He's a nightmare to play against. He is strong, is a nuisance in a box and he fights for everything. He runs off everything. So for us he is a great asset."

Weghorst, who spent the season on loan at Hoffenheim, put the jitters into Turkey's previously solid defence.

Mert Gunok's save from Weghorst led to the corner from which the Netherlands equalised, with Stefan de Vrij heading home Depay's cross.

With the Turkish rear-guard tying themselves in knots to stifle Weghorst, the Netherlands netted again six minutes later with Mert Muldur, under pressure from Cody Gakpo, bundling into his own net from Denzel Dumfries' raking ball.

"We started quite well but it changed after 20 minutes, (then) they were dominating," explained Koeman.

"Then it was clear for me to make this substitution with Wout, with Cody on the wing and Denzel on the right, we had to have a lot more crosses than in the first half."