UEFA quickly decided on this football-philosophical question raised by the Netherlands’ first appearance at the European Championships. Cody Gakpo, left winger for Liverpool FC and scorer of the 1-1 goal in the first half on Sunday afternoon, was presented with his small trophy as the so-called “Man of the Match” just a few minutes after the end of the game. In purely statistical and game-analytical terms, it was a completely understandable award, but in football it is usually not the mind that decides, but the heart – which is why an emotional question remained: Wouldn’t it have been much more appropriate to give a special prize to the tall, lanky Dutchman with the number nine on his shirt, who everyone hugged after the final whistle?
Wout Weghorst had decided this first match in Group D with his 2-1 goal in the 82nd minute. He needed just one touch of the ball after being substituted a minute earlier, and not even a perfect pass was needed, just a deflected cross from defender Nathan Aké. Weghorst could be the protagonist of an essay about the simplicity of being a front-line striker who just has to be in the right place and react intuitively to be the hero – while the other players around him were able to show relatively little return for 81 minutes of hard work.
It was remarkable for long stretches how the Dutch attacking quartet of Gakpo, Memphis Depay, Xavi Simons and Tijjani Reijnders tormented and divided the Polish defence and repeatedly created the best chances for themselves. A variable division of space contributed to this, frequent position changes, a lot of courage and sharpness in the passes, and often a direct attempt from a distance. These were all modern, tactical elements, the signature of coach Ronald Koeman was clearly recognizable for long stretches, but the efforts seemed remarkably toothless in the final stages. Which is why the national coach had to ask himself at the end why he had not brought his striker with the good finish into the game earlier.
Only in the final stages do Koeman’s Dutchmen appear toothless
“He was a bit annoyed that he didn’t play from the start,” said Koeman, and immediately put an end to the line-up debate by saying that he decides “for the team” and not for individual players. At the same time, however, he also said: “He does a lot to play.” Weghorst’s enthusiasm for training and his willingness to work have often been praised by his teammates. And of course, there could also have been good arguments for him being able to be available for 80 minutes at the end of the creative ball relays of the bustling midfield, especially against defensive and waiting Poles. A game like the one against the French, which the Netherlands now have to play, is at first glance less suitable for classic, confident penalty area strikers.
However, in a tournament you learn from game to game. Koeman, for example, found out that a conversation with the striker on the morning of the match day could make it easier to make a decision. “It’s always easy to say it afterwards, but I said exactly that to my girlfriend this morning,” reported Weghorst. He had the “same score” in his head, but in his dream version there were still 20 minutes to play: “It got a bit later, but that’s okay.”