Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo may have had his worst-ever performance for the Netherlands in their 1-0 loss to Germany in the Nations League, blog Football-Oranje has suggested.
The Dutch forward had a night to forget in the disappointing loss where Stuttgart forward Jamie Leweling, making his debut, scored the game’s only goal to help Germany close in on a quarter-final spot.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side hardly allowed the Netherlands a shot on goal on Monday night and, despite the final scoreline, produced a dominant performance, launching a total of 13 shots compared to the Dutch side’s mere three.
Gakpo consistently lost the ball in the final third and wasted some promising opportunities with ‘sloppy play’, according to Football-Oranje.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was absent from the game after being sent off against Hungary last week, and the Netherlands clearly struggled without his presence, both defensively and in attack. Dutch outlet Algemeen Dagblad remarked that at times the Netherlands ‘looked like an amateur team on a Sunday morning, still sleepy from a wild night out before’.
Gakpo Slammed After Germany Loss
‘His worst ever performance’
Gakpo, who started the season at Anfield on a disappointing note under Arne Slot, endured a poor showing against Germany on Monday, with Football-Oranje awarding the Dutchman a 4.5/10 rating for his performance:
“His worst ever performance in Oranje? Lost the ball consistently and wasted some good attacks with sloppy play. Even set pieces were constantly wasted.”
Despite being one of the standout forwards at Euro 2024 this summer, Gakpo has so far had limited opportunities to impress Slot at the start of the term and has been reduced to just 207 minutes in the Premier League.
After coming off the bench for six consecutive games, the Eindhoven-born attacker was finally given his first start of the 2024/25 campaign against Crystal Palace, where he impressed, setting up Diogo Jota for the game’s only goal in the first half.
In Gakpo’s two other starts for Liverpool this season, he provided an assist for Dominik Szoboszlai in the 3-1 Champions League win against AC Milan and scored twice in the 5-1 EFL Cup rout of West Ham United.
Cody Gakpo Liverpool Stats (2024/25 Premier League)
Games
7
Starts
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Expected goals
0.5
Trent Alexander-Arnold made his left-back debut in England’s 3-1 win over Finland, and football journalist Henry Winter has suggested it was ‘not the best use of his talent’ on Sunday night.
Trent was deployed in an unfamiliar role by Lee Carsley, having never played on the left of the backline in his 319 senior appearances for Liverpool or 31 caps for England. The 25-year-old shone nevertheless, scoring a second-half free-kick to seal the Three Lions’ comfortable victory in Helsinki, earning a Man of the Match award for his display.
No player had more touches than his 130 against Finland, and he also completed the third-most passes (95 out of 110), according to SofaScore
