Cody Gakpo played like a man possessed to help book the Netherlands' place in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 via an emphatic 3-0 victory over Romania in Munich. The red-hot Liverpool attacker was a persistent threat all afternoon at the Allianz Arena as he tormented his blue-haired marker and Brighton target Andrei Ratiu from the left flank, scoring and assisting for Ronald Koeman's rejuvenated side. Gakpo broke the deadlock on 20 minutes when he cut inside Romania right-back Ratiu and slammed home inside the near post in venomous fashion.
It was his third goal of the tournament meaning he is now the joint top-goalscorer at Euro 2024 alongside Georgia hotshot Georges Mikautadze. If Gakpo maintains this level of potency, he will undoubtedly feel like a new signing for Liverpool this summer - and an upgrade on Luis Diaz - following the arrival of fellow Dutchman Arne Slot . While he still put credible numbers, 16 goals and six assists, on the board for the Reds in all competitions last season, he struggled to maintain consistency due to frequent positional rotation.
But on this evidence, there can be no doubt that his best position is when he's flying inside from the left and unleashing shots at will. Stefan de Vrij had Romania goalkeeper Florin Nita scrambling when he headed against the side netting before Tottenham centre-back Radu Dragusin came to his nation's rescue, blocking Denzel Dumfries' pass across goal to Memphis Depay. Holland were undeniably wasteful and could hav.
