‘Everyone knows…’ – Cody Gakpo makes honest admission ahead of Netherlands v England clash
Cody Gakpo has made an honest admission about Netherlands’ performances at Euro 2024 ahead of their semi-final against England in midweek.
Both nations came from behind to prevail in their respective quarter-finals on Saturday and come face-to-face in Dortmund this Wednesday.
Neither team has been entirely convincing so far at the tournament – Gareth Southgate’s side have been mediocre, quite frankly – but the Liverpool forward is adamant that results matter more than performances at this point in the competition.
Gakpo said (via 90min): “England won so that’s a good sign – like us! In the end, it’s the most important thing. You can play good football but still go out. Obviously I think everyone knows each country can play a little bit better but if you win, that’s all that matters.”
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Although Netherlands have – on the whole – played better than England at Euro 2024, it’s easy to forget that they actually finished third in the group while the Three Lions topped theirs, which goes to show that results don’t strictly mirror performances.
If the Oranje go on to emulate Portugal of 2016 by winning the tournament despite a third-place group finish, Gakpo will go down as one of the main reasons for that triumph, having already scored three times at the finals and forced the decisive own goal from Mert Muldur against Turkiye last night.
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For the 25-year-old to openly acknowledge that there could be more to come from his nation performance-wise is a good sign in terms of mentality – while the win is the most important thing, he’s not entirely satisfied to just get by with results.
If Southgate finally does the right thing and starts Trent Alexander-Arnold in a right wing-back role against Netherlands, we could see an absorbing all-Liverpool duel between him and the Reds’ number 18 on Wednesday night.
At least we know that, whatever happens in the two semi-finals, there’ll be Anfield representation in the showpiece in Berlin next Sunday!
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