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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Daniel Orme

Netherlands hero Wout Weghorst breaks down in tears after Argentina heroics go to waste

Netherlands forward Wout Weghorst was left in tears after his nation lost their World Cup quarter-final with Argentina despite his two-goal heroics.

The Burnley forward - currently spending a period on-loan with Turkish side Besiktas - initially started on the bench for Louis van Gaal 's men at the Lusail Stadium. Memphis Depay and Steven Bergwijn were both preferred.

Argentina had raced into a 2-0 lead through Nahuel Molina and Lionel Messi, when the former Manchester United head coach turned to his bench in an effort to find a route back into the game. Weghorst was one of those introduced and his appearance could not really have gone much better.

He halved the deficit with a thumping header with just seven minutes of normal time remaining. The striker then triggered wild celebrations across the Netherlands after finding himself on the end of a genius free-kick routine to roll the ball home in the final seconds of the tie - sending it to extra-time.

He was not quite able to secure himself the matchball with neither side managing to find a way through during the extra 30 minutes. Despite riding a wave of emotions following his equaliser, Netherlands let the pressure get to them as they fell to defeat on penalties.

Wout Weghorst slumped to his knees after the Netherlands were dumped out of the World Cup (Getty Images)

Who was your man-of-the-match in Argentina's victory over the Netherlands? Share your thoughts in the comments below

Both Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis saw their efforts saved by Emiliano Martinez. Weghorst did his upmost once more as he scored from the penalty spot to keep his nation alive but it was not to be for the Dutch as Inter Milan star Lautaro Martinez netted the winner to send his nation through to a semi-final meeting with Croatia.

Come the final whistle, Weghorst was overcome by emotion as he burst into tears. He was eventually consoled by a member of the Dutch coaching staff as the team retreated to the dressing rooms following a brief exchange with the Argentinian players after a bad-tempered match throughout.

(FIFA via Getty Images)

Weghorst will now head back to Besiktas with his assignments at the World Cup over. The Dutchman was in the midst of a quietly impressive season having penned a temporary deal on-loan from Championship side Burnley.

He had six goals in 14 appearances ahead of the World Cup. In all, Weghorst made four appearances at the tournament itself.

His outing in the quarter-final tie against Argentina was the longest, playing 42 minutes once extra-time was taken into account. His previous appearances only accounted for 20 minutes with short cameos coming against Ecuador, Qatar and the USA.

That sees the 30-year-old's international record sit at five goals in 19 appearances having made his debut against England back in 2018.

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