The Dutch got off to a winning start at Euro 2024 thanks to super-sub Wout Weghorst’s late goal. Look back at the best facts, statistics and live Opta data with our Poland vs Netherlands stats page.

Wout Weghorst’s late goal ensured that the Netherlands start Euro 2024 with a win, but it was a far from convincing performance. The Dutch attempted 21 shots in the game but could only find the target four times and ended up relying on their super-sub to scrape through against an unfancied Poland side.

Ronald Koeman named a starting XI without a single Ajax player in it – the first time since 2008 that a Netherlands’ team selection at a major tournament didn’t include one, while Bart Verbruggen’s appearance in goal saw him become the third youngest goalkeeper to ever play at the European Championship (21 years, 303 days).

Poland would have been pinning a lot of their hopes this summer on the talents of all-time top scorer Robert Lewandowski, but the Barcelona striker was ruled out of this match through injury earlier this week.

Instead of a man who has 82 international goals to his name, coach Michał Probierz was forced to turn to a man that had only six – Adam Buksa. The 27-year-old made his opportunity count though, opening the scoring with a 16th-minute header from a Piotr Zielinski corner to increase his tally to seven for Poland. Possibly a weakness that opposition sides could exploit this summer, it was the third successive goal the Dutch had conceded following a corner. For context, just three of their previous 83 were conceded via corner situations.

Despite opening the scoring, the first half was largely controlled by the Netherlands, and it felt only a matter of time before the Dutch levelled the scores. Memphis Depay missed a good opportunity, before fortune favoured Cody Gakpo, who saw his shot deflected past Wojciech Szczesny on 29 minutes to make it 1-1. He scored in all three of the Netherlands’ group stage games at the 2022 World Cup – form that saw him secure a move to Premier League giants Liverpool – and he started Euro 2024 in similar form.

Poland 1-2 Netherlands Stats

Gakpo was replaced by Weghorst, and it took the big striker just two minutes and 18 seconds to score the winning goal – the fastest goal by a Dutch substitute in Euros history. With his first touch in the opposition box, and just his second of the game, he stroked the ball into the back of the net past Szczesny for his seventh goal in his last 11 appearances for the Netherlands.

His tag of ‘super-sub’ for the Dutch has only strengthened after this goal. Only Pierre van Hooijdonk (10) and Klaas Jan Huntelaar (8) have ever scored more goals for Oranje as a substitute than Weghorst (7), while he is only the second player to ever to score in three consecutive games for the Netherlands after having come on as a substitute, after Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink in 2007-2008 (3).

Wout Weghorst in 2024

Since losing all three games at Euro 2012, the Netherlands have now gone unbeaten in 10 straight group stage games at major tournaments, winning nine of those (D1). Their group stage games have not been a problem in recent years, but only time will tell if this Dutch side can compete with the bigger teams in the knockouts. This performance won’t have convinced many that they can.

Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Poland vs Netherlands stats from their Euro 2024 Group D clash at Volksparkstadion in Hamburg.

The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own post-match analysis.

Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well. 

Poland vs Netherlands: Post-Match Facts

  • This was the second victory by a team conceding the opening goal of a game at Euro 2024 (after Italy versus Albania), already equalling the number of comeback wins in the group stage at EURO 2020 (2). 
  • Since losing all three games at Euro 2012, Netherlands have gone unbeaten in 10 straight group stage games at major tournaments (World Cup/Euros), winning nine of those (D1).
  • Netherlands had 21 shots against Poland – their most in a game at a major tournament (World Cup/Euros) since 2012 against Denmark (32).
  • Wout Weghorst scored the fastest goal by a Netherlands substitute at the European Championship, netting the winning goal of the game just two minutes and 18 seconds after coming off the bench.
  • Cody Gakpo has scored in all four of his group stage starts for the Netherlands at major tournaments (four goals at the World Cup/Euros), while he’s now scored in his first start at both the World Cup and European Championships.
  • Adam Buksa became just the fourth Poland player to score on his debut at the European Championship, after Robert Lewandowski (2012), Arkadiusz Milik (2016) and Karol Linetty (2021).
  • Netherlands’ Bart Verbruggen became the third youngest goalkeeper to ever play at the European Championship (21 years and 303 days), and the youngest to do so since José Ángel Iribar for Spain in 1964.

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