Amiable and bland? How Cody Gakpo joined the ranks of Netherlands’ most talismanic forwards

Marco van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Kluivert… Cody Gakpo? The man who has spent parts of the past season as Liverpool’s fifth-choice forward may not seem a worthy successor to some of the Dutch striking greats. But three Netherlands players have won the Golden Boot in the European Championships; Van Basten on his own in 1988, Bergkamp and Kluivert sharing it with others in 1992 and 2000 respectively. As Euro 2024 entered the quarter-finals, Gakpo was on course to become the fourth.

And if that feels unexpected, it may be a still greater surprise that Gakpo has already scored more goals in major tournaments than the great Van Basten: the Netherlands’ finest No 9 – Johan Cruyff being their definitive false nine – scored five in 1988, but none in the 1990 World Cup or Euro ’92. Two tournaments in, Gakpo has three in each, six from just nine games. His shot conversion rate is a hugely impressive 37.5 percent.

If the reality that five of those goals came in group stages in tournaments that have expanded since Van Basten’s day and the other against a Romania side who may have overachieved by reaching the last 16 of Euro 2024, a squad player for his club is shaping up as a talismanic force for his country.

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It may put Gakpo in a particular genre of footballer: those who have a greater impact in the international game. He has a teammate in that particular bracket: while Memphis Depay has been more profligate than prolific thus far in Euro 2024, a forward with 14 goals over his last two seasons for Barcelona and Atletico Madrid is closing in on Robin van Persie’s national record of 50. For the last decade, though, Depay has been more potent in qualifiers than tournaments themselves.

Gakpo, who certainly isn’t from the Dutch tradition of outspoken footballers, deflected questions about his tournament record after a man-of-the-match showing against Romania. “It is quite hard to answer,” he said. That tendency towards polite, amiable blandness scarcely makes Gakpo appear an enigma.

And at Anfield, he felt the anti-Darwin: Darwin Nunez swallowed much of the attention with his unique brand of magnetism whereas Gakpo had more of a tendency to blend into the background. The Uruguayan was the wild card, the Dutchman the forward trusted to follow Jurgen Klopp’s instructions about pressing and positioning. It was Gakpo who finished Klopp’s reign in the starting 11.

Nevertheless, Gakpo may have been a code Klopp did not truly crack. He lacked the pace to be a Klopp winger. His dribbling skills have been apparent in Euro 2024, but he lacks the speed of Sadio Mane and rarely runs in behind defences. So a few of his Liverpool outings came in midfield, many as a No 9. He had, though, been the player of the year in the Netherlands when deployed on the left by PSV Eindhoven. Ronald Koeman sees a fine finisher in that role, too, allowing him to cut inside and shoot on his favoured foot. It is how he has scored against Austria and Romania.

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“First, his position is on the left side,” the manager said. “Because he is really dangerous if he comes one against one with the right full-back. Inside, outside, he has his qualities, he’s strong. He’s playing at a great level at this tournament. He’s maybe the [most] important player until now, and I hope that the rest can come to that level.”

If it was a challenge to Depay, Donyell Malen showed signs he is belatedly on the up. After a harrowing game in defeat to Austria, he delivered two goals as a substitute against Romania. Factor in Wout Weghorst’s winner against Poland, even without mentioning his influential cameos thereafter, and the Netherlands have seven goals from their four main forwards this tournament. Yet, in their different ways, none has had a great season at club level.

It creates an illogical look to Koeman’s team. The Netherlands have a surfeit of terrific defenders, but a defence that looked unconvincing against Austria. On paper, theirs is an underwhelming attack, but Germany’s is the only forward line with more goals across their first four games.

It makes Gakpo an emblematic figure for this Netherlands: a side without a Van Persie, let alone a Van Basten. He, though, is playing above his club level, while some of the defenders have played below theirs. It makes the Netherlands a conundrum of a team; having finished third in their group, now only Turkey stand between them and the last four. And if they are scarcely favourites to win Euro 2024, perhaps it is more plausible a prize goes to Gakpo in the shape of the Golden Boot.