Mats Wieffer (born 16 November 1999) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Eredivisie side Feyenoord and the Netherlands national team.

Mats Wieffer
Wieffer with Feyenoord in 2022
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-11-16) 16 November 1999 (age 24)[1]
Place of birth Borne, Netherlands
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
Feyenoord
Number 20
Youth career
RKSV NEO [nl]
2010–2018 FC Twente
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018 Jong FC Twente 1 (0)
2018–2020 FC Twente 1 (0)
2020–2022 Excelsior 65 (5)
2022– Feyenoord 50 (6)
International career
2023– Netherlands 8 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:27, 17 March 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 March 2024

Club career edit

Born in Borne,[3][4] Wieffer played youth football for RKSV NEO aged 5 before joining FC Twente's academy at the age of 10.[4][5] He made one Derde Divisie appearance for Jong FC Twente in the 2017–18 season,[3] prior to making his professional debut for Twente on 30 October 2018 in a 4–2 KNVB Beker win over VV Noordwijk.[6] He made his league debut in a 2–0 win over TOP Oss in March 2019.[2]

In June 2020, Wieffer joined Excelsior on a free transfer, signing a three-year contract with the club.[7]

In June 2022, Wieffer moved to Feyenoord on a four-year contract.[8] On 13 January 2023, he scored his first goal for the club while also providing an assist in a 3–1 cup win over PEC Zwolle.[9] On 13 April 2023, Wieffer scored his first goal in a European club competition, scoring the one and only goal in a 1–0 win over A.S. Roma in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League.[10]

International career edit

On 17 March 2023, Wieffer received his first call-up to the Netherlands senior national team for the Euro 2024 qualifying matches against France and Gibraltar.[11] He made his debut on 27 March as a starter in a 3–0 win over Gibraltar.[12]

On 21 November 2023, Wieffer scored his first senior international goal in the Netherlands' 6–0 win against Gibraltar.[13]

Career statistics edit

Club edit

As of match played 17 March 2024[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
FC Twente 2018–19 Eerste Divisie 1 0 1 0 2 0
Excelsior 2020–21 Eerste Divisie 31 1 4 0 35 1
2021–22 34 4 2 0 6[a] 1 42 5
Total 65 5 6 0 0 0 6 1 77 6
Feyenoord 2022–23 Eredivisie 25 1 4 1 8[b] 1 37 3
2023–24 25 5 4 0 8[c] 1 1[d] 0 38 6
Total 50 6 8 1 16 2 1 0 75 9
Career total 116 11 15 1 16 2 7 1 154 15
  1. ^ Appearances in Eerste Divisie promotion/relegation play-offs
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield

International edit

As of match played 22 March 2024[15]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Netherlands 2023 7 1
2024 1 0
Total 8 1
Netherlands score listed first, score column indicates score after each Wieffer goal.[15]
List of international goals scored by Mats Wieffer
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 21 November 2023 Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé, Portugal   Gibraltar 2–0 6–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Honours edit

Feyenoord

Individual

References edit

  1. ^ UEFA.com. "Mats Wieffer | Netherlands | UEFA Nations League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b Mats Wieffer at Soccerway. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Mats Wieffer". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Mats Wieffer tekent bij FC Twente". Borne Boeit (in Dutch). 6 August 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  5. ^ "Mats Wieffer". sbvexcelsior.nl (in Dutch). SBV Excelsior. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Enthousiaste FC Twente-debutant Wieffer op een roze wolk: "Een fantastische dag"". RTV Oost (in Dutch). 31 October 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Mats Wieffer na tien jaar van FC Twente naar Excelsior: "Mooie tijd geweest"". RTV Oost (in Dutch). 30 June 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  8. ^ "Arnesen blij met komst Wieffer: 'Hij is uit het juiste hout gesneden" (in Dutch). 23 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Extra defensieve zorgen smetje op bekerwinst van Feyenoord" [extra defensive worries blemish Feyenoord's cup win]. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Wieffer laat De Kuip ontploffen met Europese primeur" [Wieffer makes De Kuip explode with his first European goal]. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  11. ^ "Koeman roept drie debutanten op" [Koemans includes three debutants] (in Dutch). 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Oranje neemt twijfels niet weg met pover optreden tegen Gibraltar" [Netherlands doesn't take away doubts after poor showing against Gibraltar] (in Dutch). 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  13. ^ Hincks, Michael (21 November 2023). "Gibraltar 0–6 Netherlands: Calvin Stengs Scores Hat-Trick as Dutch Sign Off Qualifying in Style with Thumping Win". Eurosport. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  14. ^ Mats Wieffer at Soccerway
  15. ^ a b "Mats Wieffer- Nederlands Elftal" (in Dutch). KNVB.nl. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  16. ^ "Feyenoord verslaat Go Ahead en is na zes jaar weer kampioen van Nederland" [Feyenoord beats Go Ahead and is champions of the Netherlands after six years] (in Dutch). 14 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  17. ^ "Nine clubs provide players for Eredivisie Team of the Month". Eredivisie. 3 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.