For one member of the Liverpool squad, he and international tournaments are pretty much a match made in footballing heaven.
After earning a £37 million move to the Premier League giants on the back of his superb performances at the 2022 Qatar World Cup – scoring in all three of the group stages matches in the Middle East – you would not have got particularly long odds on the Netherlands Euro 2024 account being opened by that very same Cody Gakpo.
The Liverpool forward had already drawn one impressive save out of Poland’s former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny at the near post before he cancelled out Adam Buksa’s opener midway through the first half.
Picking up the ball just outside the penalty area, Gakpo drove forward and fizzed a shot at goal. Albeit aided of course by a massive deflection which took his shot agonisingly out of Szczesny’s reach, the ex-PSV Eindhoven talisman’s tournament record speaks for itself.
Seven appearances at World Cups or European Championships, four goals.
Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo scores as Netherlands beat Poland
“He is very dangerous,” was the glowing assessment of former Netherlands playmaker Rafael van der Vaart, speaking to NOS. “Every action is positive. (Poland) are extremely afraid of him.
“So much threat. So much technique and composure.”
Lining up wide on the left-hand side, Gakpo’s drifted right onto the touchline to stretch the Polish defence before driving infield to link up with Xavi Simons and Memphis Depay.
“With Cody Gakpo as the standout, the Dutch team had almost complete control,” reporter Valentijn Driessen tells De Telegraaf. “(Ronald Koeman’s side) took the initiative, played dominantly, attacking the ball with a wide variety of attacking designs.”
“In the first half, Gakpo had a lot of threat,” adds Ronald de Boer, speaking to Voetbal Primeur. “He was important with a goal. Really threatening, what we want to see.”
A goal of the bench from substitute Wout Weghorst, slammed in at the near post following some good approach play from Nathan Ake, puts Koeman’s side in early control of their group. And, with Austria and pre-tournament favourites France to come, Weghorst’s late winner could yet prove to be even more important than it first appeared.
Great start for Cody Gakpo at Euro 2024
“For the most part, the end is good. All’s well,” smiles a relieved Koeman. “We did very well for an hour, being able to create a lot of opportunities.
“You fall behind because of a bad defensive moment in a standard situation (Buksa scoring from a poorly-defended corner). That really needs to be improved.’
“It should have been 3-1 or 4-1 at half-time and, after that, you see that it becomes difficult. I don’t know how many chances we had. Germany gets two chances and they score two goals (early on vs Scotland). We create five and score one. Getting opportunities is one thing, but taking them is another.
“’I really thought Cody Gakpo played great, but you still want to bring fresh players with speed and depth. It was hard-fought, but more than deserved.”
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