Somewhat forgotten by Liverpool supporters, Dutch striker Cody Gakpo has brought back fond memories for the English by scoring three goals since the start of the Euro, before the semi-final against England on Wednesday (9:00 p.m.) in Dortmund.
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The 25-year-old is doing well in major tournaments. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, he had already scored three goals in five matches before the “Oranje” were eliminated by eventual winners Argentina in the quarter-finals.
This performance convinced Liverpool to sign him for $45 million in January 2023. But Gakpo struggled to find his place in the “Reds'” bloated squad: in addition to the unbeatable Mohamed Salah, he found himself in competition with Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota.
The native of Eindhoven, where he began his career with PSV, showed his potential by scoring twice in the historic 7-0 victory against Manchester United in March 2023, for a total of 16 goals last season in 53 matches.
But at 1.93m, the winger by training often had to sacrifice himself for the good of the team, sometimes changing to centre forward, sometimes to midfield at the request of Jürgen Klopp, who left at the end of the season.
Back on his favourite left wing in the national team, he established himself as one of the best players in the German tournament.
” I’m a left winger. At Liverpool I played a lot as a centre forward, that’s the big difference between playing for your club and for the national team. ” he said.
Although the wing has “always” been his preference, ” For a year and a half, the coach needed me to play in another position and I did my best “, he assures.
With Rep and Bergkamp
His three goals at the Euro put him top of the provisional scorers’ ranking, despite several chances in the 3-0 victory against Romania in the round of 16. It was also under his pressure that Turkish defender Mert Müldür scored an own goal in the quarter-finals (2-1).
In a Dutch shirt, Gakpo became the third player after Johnny Rep and Dennis Bergkamp to score three goals in two major tournaments.
” Yes, he can play centre forward, but he has shown that he is more dangerous on the left side. “, stressed coach Ronald Koeman.
” He is really dangerous when he is one-on-one with the right-back. Along the line or to cut into the centre, he has qualities, he is strong ” he explained.
” He is playing at a very high level in this tournament. “, adds Koeman, for whom Gakpo is ” perhaps the most important player so far “.
The Dutch, who have been dreaming of a repeat Euro final since winning the title in 1988, got off to a bad start in the competition, finishing third in their group behind Austria and France.
But against England, who have been criticised for their attacking shortcomings, Gakpo could take a big step towards glory and the title of top scorer.