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 special, as revealed in Friday’s edition of the “Kick-Off” section of the De Telegraaf newspaper.
Weghorst’s appearance was significant as it marked his fiftieth international match with the Dutch national team. Especially for the occasion, the imposing striker had reserved a box at the Johan Cruijff ArenA for those who had been important to him throughout his career. Weghorst addressed the guests with a few words after the match.
Journalist Steven Kooijman shared a “nice anecdote” about this in a podcast. “I was actually in the Far 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 said, ‘That 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 still brought on. To the great relief of the entire box.” The Dutch national team won 2-1 against Norway after initially being behind in the match.
A few days later, Weghorst was once 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 a 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 Netherlands’ final selection for the World Cup.
