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Published on Jun, 16 2024
The lead: Weghorst saves Netherlands again, but it's not pretty
HAMBURG -- Remember when Netherlands produced some of the most elegant and prolific goal scorers in the game? The days of Robin van Persie, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Marco van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Kluivert appear to be long gone, but at least the Dutch can count on Wout Weghorst.
When Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman needed a hero to rescue his team in the Group D opener against Poland, he turned to Weghorst from the off the bench and the 31-year-old delivered by scoring a winning goal with his first touch, two minutes after entering the action, to seal a 2-1 victory in Hamburg.
The Hoffenheim striker will never win prizes for his aesthetic qualities and if you recall his loan spell at Manchester United during the 2022-23, when he scored just two goals in 31 appearances, he won't get too much acclaim for his impact in front of goal either. But in an era when the Dutch can't seem to produce a striker that comes close to emulating the greats of the past, Weghorst has become an unlikely hero and scores big goals when it matters.
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He famously netted two late goals -- including one in the 11th minute of stoppage time -- to take the 2022 World Cup quarterfinal against Argentina into extra-time in Qatar, and although the Dutch lost that game on penalties, Weghorst highlighted his value as an impact sub. He did so again in the Volksparkstadion on Sunday, with Koeman introducing him in the 82nd minute after seeing the Dutch score just once from 20 chances.
Weghorst replaced Memphis Depay -- who is surprisingly second on the all-time Dutch top scorer list, six behind Van Persie -- and scored two minutes later by stroking home Nathan Ake's pass from 10 yards. At 6-foot-6, Weghorst cuts an ungainly figure and lacks pace, but he has proven himself to be effective for the national team, with his goal against Poland taking him to seven in his last 11 appearances.
It is questionable as to whether his attributes are enough to help the Dutch go deep in Euro 2024, or perhaps even win it, but Koeman is pragmatic enough to exploit the qualities he has. Cody Gakpo, who scored a deflected equaliser after Adam Buksa had headed Poland into an early lead, offered threat from out wide, while Depay put himself into good positions, but the team failed to take advantage of their many chances.
That lack of quality at the sharp end of the pitch might ultimately be what costs the Dutch and sees them exit the competition early in the knockout stages. If they had a Van Persie or a Van Basten, it would be a different story, but they don't. Right now, Weghorst is the striker that Koeman can rely on and that may only get them so far. -- Mark Ogden
Sights and sounds around Euro 2024 Swiss hero Duah almost misses the bus
COLOGNE -- The European Championship often reveals unlikely heroes, and the first to emerge in Germany is Switzerland striker Kwadwo Duah. He was such a surprise inclusion in the squad for Switzerland's warm-up games that he doesn't feature in many of the tournament preview magazines. But he took just 12 minutes to announce himself in the first game against Hungary with the opening goal -- his first in international football -- to set Switzerland on their way to a 3-1 win in Group A.
Duah is 27 and, in a career that has taken him from Switzerland to Germany and now Bulgaria, he has had to wait for his chance at the top level. He probably wouldn't have started against Hungary had Monaco striker Breel Embolo been fully fit. Such was the interest in Duah's story after the game that he was one of the last Switzerland players to emerge from the dressing room after fulfilling a number of interview requests. He was even told by staff he couldn't speak to any more reporters because the bus was leaving and there was a danger they would miss a train back to their base on the outskirts of Stuttgart. -- Rob Dawson
Ale Moreno reacts to an impressive win for Switzerland over Hungary to kick off their Euro 2024 campaign.
Italy inspired by past heroes
DORTMUND -- Italy are drawing on the experience of some of their former heroes for this Euro 2024 campaign. At the start of June, manager Luciano Spalletti invited legendary No. 10s Roberto Baggio, Alessandro del Piero, Francesco Totti, Gianni Rivera and Giancarlo Antognoni into the camp to inspire the squad. Baggio told the squad to embrace the pressure of the shirt, while Del Piero told the team: "You'll remember this pressure with a smile when you're older." Rivera told them to attack, Totti said it's important they enjoy the experience, while Antognoni enjoyed catching up with players he'd seen in his role with the youth team.
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While Italy had the late, great Gianluca Vialli as their head of delegation for Euro 2020, this time around it's 46-year-old former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. He's there to provide guidance to players, while also taking a key role in leadership. Buffon also knows what it takes to win on the international stage, having helped Italy to the 2006 World Cup.
"Having Gigi here, a player who wrote history with Italy, has been hugely important," goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma said. "He tells us a little bit about his experiences. He told us about the unforgettable summer that they had in 2006. Having him here is already great because Gigi offers so much, but hearing him tell the story, give you advice, is even better. He can certainly give us advice on what's gone down in history."
After Italy's opening 2-1 win over Albania, Buffon was there in the dressing room to welcome each player back. -- Tom Hamilton
Stat of the day
Euro 2024 is the first time that Netherlands have a squad of players who weren't born the last time the country won the tournament back in 1988. -- ESPN Stats & Information.
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Group E: Romania vs. Ukraine (Munich; 3 p.m. local, 9 a.m. ET)
Odds (via ESPNBET): Romania +300, Draw +240, Ukraine -110
A talented Ukraine side begin their Euro 2024 campaign against Romania at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Monday amid the ongoing backdrop of Russia's invasion of the country. Coach Sergiy Rebrov stresses that "there are much more important" things happening in his homeland, but there is hope that this squad can provide "positive emotions" during harrowing times.
Wherever you look, there is quality in this Ukraine team. Real Madrid's Andriy Lunin, Arsenal's Oleksandr Zinchenko, Chelsea's Mykhailo Mudryk and Girona duo Viktor Tsygankov and Artem Dovbyk, the latter of whom was the top scorer in LaLiga this season, are all capable of mixing it with the best. In a group that also contains Belgium and Slovakia, there is a real belief of progress to the knockout rounds.
That belief will grow if they can start with a win, but they will not have it all their own way against Romania. Edward Iordanescu's team qualified top of their group, unbeaten through 10 games and only conceded five goals as they booked their place in Germany. They cannot match Ukraine's star names but they are hard working, resilient and making the most of limited resources -- Sam Marsden.
Group E: Belgium vs. Slovakia (Frankfurt; 6 p.m./noon)
Odds: Belgium -210, Draw +350, Slovakia -550
The main headline from Belgium's squad announcement was the absence of star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. He was at the forefront of their "golden generation" but with that group ebbing away -- including Eden Hazard in retirement -- this squad is a mix of 10 from the Euro 2020 team (including Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku) and the new crew. Keep an eye on the likes of PSV's Johan Bakayoko, Manchester City's Jeremy Doku and Atalanta's Charles De Ketelaere, while Leandro Trossard will feature prominently. Doubts remain over their strength at the back with injury concerns for Thomas Meunier, Jan Vertonghen and Arthur Theate, but Belgium should come through this group relatively unscathed.
Slovakia are managed by Maurizio Sarri disciple Francesco Calzona, who also took interim charge of Napoli this season. He has legendary midfielder Marek Hamsik alongside him in the coaching dugout, and there's an experienced air to this squad with right back Peter Pekarík and midfielder Juraj Kucka both in their late 30s. This is their third straight Euros, and expect striker Róbert Bozeník to fare well. Napoli's Stanislav Lobotka brings a calm presence to their midfield, Milan Skriniar anchors the back, with Feyenoord's Dávid Hancko at left back, and Newcastle's Martin Dúbravka in goal.
"We are well aware of our limitations, but they are very willing and they are open to my suggestions," Calzona said. "A lot of them usually play in different positions to what they do for the national team; that has been the major difficulty so far. But they are eager and committed." -- Tom Hamilton
Group D: Austria vs. France (Düsseldorf; 9 p.m./3 p.m.)
Odds: Austria +475, Draw +340, France -190
Eighteen months after their defeat in the greatest World Cup final of all time against Argentina, Kylian Mbappé and France are back in a major tournament and once again are favourites. But Austria are a tricky opponent to start with, with their intensity and high press. Austria coach Ralf Rangnick keeps repeating to his side that under no circumstances should a France player be given more than a second on the ball, and it will be interesting to see how Les Bleus counter that.
All eyes will obviously be on Mbappé, the best player in the world. This is his first big tournament as France's captain, and now that the announcement of his free transfer to Real Madrid this summer has taken a lot of weight off his shoulders, he is happy again after a tough second part of the season at PSG. French politics have been heavily involved in the buildup to this game after Marcus Thuram's comments against the rise of the far right on Saturday, so the players will want to make a statement on the pitch this time. -- Julien Laurens
Craig Burley explains where England are most vulnerable, despite Gareth Southgate's men heading into Euro 2024 as tournament favourites.
One big read
Is it possible for a country to have the most physically demanding league in world football and still see its national team win an international tournament? England are about to find out at Euro 2024 as, once again, the Three Lions attempt to prove that the Premier League isn't their biggest roadblock to achieving success.
Despite a status as a major football nation and an abundance of world-class players, England have failed to win a major tournament since the 1966 World Cup. But ahead of their Euro 2024 opener against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday, they are considered one of the favourites to win it.
So after another season of two domestic cup competitions, a winter break so brief that most teams barely noticed it, and European football for the Premier League's top clubs, do Gareth Southgate's players have any chance of overcoming England's age-old problem of fatigue?
And finally ...
We have our first social media star of Euro 2024, and it's none of the big names you might expect.
Hungary striker Martin Ádám went viral after coming on for the last 10 minutes of his team's 3-1 loss against Switzerland on Saturday -- not for his performance on the pitch, but because he doesn't look like your usual footballer at this level.
Adam, 29, plays for South Korean side Ulsan HD, stands 6-foot-3 and has a physique more suited to the NFL than soccer. In fact, with his full beard, he even bears a passing resemblance to one of the Kelce brothers.
A post shared by Ádám Martin (@adam.martin66)
But while his size catches the eye, Adam has a decent goal-scoring record, too: 24 goals in 67 league matches for Ulsan in the past two years, and he was top scorer in the Hungarian top flight in 2021-22 with 31 goals. He also has three goals and three assists in 23 caps for his country.
When asked where he was for Euro 2020, Adam's answer was pretty straightforward: "I was watching it on TV at home drinking beers!" -- Laurens.
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