Last Friday, Wout Weghorst was brought on as a substitute by coach Ronald Koeman during the friendly match between the Netherlands and Norway (2-1). This substitution was particularly noteworthy, as revealed in Friday’s edition of the “Kick-Off” section of the De Telegraaf newspaper.
Weghorst’s entrance was significant, as it marked his fiftieth international match with the Oranje. Especially for the occasion, the imposing striker had rented a box at the Johan Cruijff ArenA for the people who have meant a lot to him throughout his career. Weghorst spoke a few words in front of the guests after the match.
Journalist Steven Kooijman shared “a nice anecdote” on this topic in the podcast. “I was actually in the North this week with Joop Gall, a friend of Erwin Koeman. Joop was Weghorst’s coach at FC Emmen.”
“All of Weghorst’s former coaches were there. Including those from TSG Hoffenheim, and so on. But when Koeman brought on Brian Brobbey, they thought, ‘This won’t happen to us.’ And what did Gall do at that moment? He took out his phone and sent a message to Erwin Koeman.”
Kooijman continued: “I don’t know if that helped, but just before the end of the match, Weghorst was brought on. Much to the relief of the entire box.” The Dutch national team won 2-1 against Norway after initially trailing.
A few days later, Weghorst was again used as a substitute by Koeman, in the final minutes of the match against Ecuador (1-1) at the Philips Stadion. The Ajax striker was unable to help the Oranje secure the victory.
At 33 years old, Weghorst now has 51 caps to his name. During this series, he has scored fourteen goals. Weghorst will find out at the end of May if he will be part of the final Netherlands squad for the World Cup.
