Today, the renowned sports outlet Marca published a piece praising Dutch forward Cody Gakpo, drawing comparisons to one of the Netherlands’ all-time greats, Marco van Basten.
Gakpo has been outstanding in this Euro Cup, scoring 3 goals in 4 matches, tying him atop the scorers’ list. In the Round of 16 match where the Netherlands defeated Romania 3-0, Gakpo opened the scoring in the first half and assisted Donyell Malen for the winning goal in the second, making him the first Dutch player in 32 years to score and assist in a Euro knockout game.
Furthermore, Gakpo is just two goals away from becoming the Netherlands’ top scorer in a single Euro Cup, a feat previously achieved by both Van Basten and Patrick Kluivert with 5 goals each.
Undoubtedly a big-match player, Gakpo was also the top scorer for the Netherlands in the previous 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. All 12 goals he has scored for the senior national team have come in official competitions (excluding friendlies), highlighting their significance.