Netherlands Striker Wout Weghorst On Heated Exchange With Messi: 'He Knows My Name Now'

Netherlands striker Wout Weghorst has opened up on his heated exchange with Lionel Messi during the 2022 World Cup.

The incident occurred during the quarter-final clash between Argentina and Netherlands in Qatar. Coming on as a late substitute, Weghorst netted a brace as Dutch came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 to send the match to extra time and penalties. Messi and Co eventually defeated the Netherlands on penalties to progress ahead.

Weghorst's second goal was remarkable as he scored through a clever free kick, which was virtually the last kick of normal time. While the Dutch striker scored from the spot, Argentina sealed the game before the two teams got into a brawl on the pitch and in the tunnel following an extremely heated game, where a record number of yellow cards were shown – 18.

"For me, everyone is the same in a match. I fight. That's what I did in that match. I had some tense moments with Messi in the match and maybe he was surprised. I respect him a lot, he's one of the best ever. After the game, I wanted to show Messi the respect I have for him, but he wasn't very open to it. Now at least he has learnt my name," Weghorst said in a recent interview.

"I don't like to speak about other people. I have a lot of respect for him. I think he's one of the greatest players we've ever had in football history," the Burnley striker added.

After Argentina defeated the Netherlands and sealed a place in the semi-final of the 2022 World Cup, Messi was heard exchanging words with Weghorst during a post-match interview. "Who are you looking at, stupid? Go ahead, you stupid," Messi said while looking at Weghorst.

It was believed that Weghorst had clashed with Messi and former Argentina forward Sergio Aguero, with the Dutchman later explaining, "I wanted to shake his [Messi's] hand after the match, but he smashed my hand away and didn't want to speak with me."

Argentina defeated France on penalties in the final of the Qatar World Cup last week. While Messi finally won his maiden World Cup trophy, it was Argentina's third title, their first since the 1986 edition.