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NOS Voetbal•vandaag, 12:24
“Gakpo is our star of this staff”, mentioned NOS analyst Pierre van Hooijdonk after the gained match towards Romania (3-0) about star participant Cody Gakpo. The attacker scored a objective and gave an help yesterday. He was not solely showered with compliments in his personal nation.
“This isn’t the Orange of Koeman or Van Dijk, however of Gakpo”, writes the Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo. The additionally Spanish AS speaks of ‘Gakpinho’. The German Bild calls the Liverpool attacker the very best of the Netherlands.
The 25-year-old Gakpo is now the event’s high scorer with three objectives. An honour he shares with Germany’s Jamal Musiala, Slovakia’s Ivan Schranz and Georgia’s Georges Mikautadze. The latter two have since been eradicated with their international locations.
French L’Equipe praised Gakpo’s help to Donyell Malen for the 2-0. “He got here near scoring twice extra earlier than delivering a wonderful help to Malen, like a tightrope walker on the objective line. An XXL efficiency.”
Sensible help, objective and delightful strikes: Gakpo’s masterclass towards Romania
Het Laatste Nieuws from Belgium writes that there are footballers who’re higher gamers within the shirt of their membership than in that of their nationwide staff. “Cody Gakpo has the alternative. Gakpo is a form of additional at Liverpool, however in Oranje he has grow to be essentially the most harmful and productive attacker because the World Cup in Qatar. Gakpo all the time performs, as a result of he all the time delivers.”
The newspaper sees that Gakpo primarily lets his ft do the speaking. “Gakpo is just not as extravagant as Memphis, doesn’t have the x-factor of Xavi Simons and likewise not that doggedness of Wout Weghorst. He’s a well mannered Brabander.”
Numbers
Gakpo’s achievements cannot solely be captured in stunning phrases, but additionally in numbers. Along with Xavi Simons and Virgil van Dijk, he created essentially the most probabilities from open play yesterday, particularly three. He additionally shot on objective thrice, essentially the most of all gamers of Oranje.
It’s putting that he had the fewest ball contacts of all of the beginning gamers (29).
The Eindhoven participant is now the primary Dutchman since Frank Rijkaard within the semi-final of the 1992 European Championship towards Denmark to each rating and put together a objective in a match within the knockout part of the European Championship.
He’s additionally the youngest to realize this for the Dutch nationwide staff (25 years and 56 days) since Marco van Basten within the closing of the 1988 European Championship (23 years and 238 days).
Gakpo excels in profitable Dutch staff: ‘This was a great response to the earlier match’
Gakpo has now scored 12 worldwide objectives, six of which got here at a significant event (50 p.c). Of all gamers with not less than seven worldwide objectives, solely Johnny Rep scored a better proportion of them at main tournaments, particularly 8 of the 12 (67 p.c).
The previous PSV participant nonetheless has to attain some objectives to grow to be the highest scorer within the Netherlands at closing tournaments. Dennis Bergkamp has scored ten objectives at European and World Championships.
Along with Rep and Bergkamp, Gakpo additionally has to tolerate Arjen Robben (7), Ruud van Nistelrooij (7), Patrick Kluivert (8), Wesley Sneijder (8) and Robin van Persie (9) forward of him.
If Gakpo continues on this means, he may simply cross these gamers, as a result of he’s all the time in high type at closing tournaments. On the final World Cup and the present European Championship, solely Frenchman Kylian Mbappé (9) scored extra objectives than Gakpo (6). And given his age, Gakpo nonetheless has a couple of closing tournaments to go.
