Man Utd target Cody Gakpo scored his third goal of the 2022 World Cup as the Netherlands cruised to victory over Qatar to secure top spot in Group A.
The 23-year-old’s displays in Qatar have only furthered his credentials following his sensational start to the 2022/23 campaign with PSV.
His 26th-minute strike from the edge of the penalty area versus Qatar came via his right foot. He has already netted with his left against Ecuador and his head versus Senegal.
Head coach Louis van Gaal has allocated special status to Memphis Depay, making an exception to include the long-time injured Barcelona forward in his squad, but his first start of the tournament was overshadowed by his strike partner who now currently enjoys the role as most important attacker.
Depay’s first start for any team since mid-September after a hamstring problem was a way of improving his match fitness against opposition who already knew they were exiting the tournament before the game kicked off after two uninspiring defeats.
The 28-year-old responded by starting the move which led to Gakpo’s opener and then inadvertently providing the assist for Frenkie De Jong’s goal just after half-time when his shot was parried by goalkeeper Meeshal Barsham.
Victory ensured Van Gaal’s side finished top of Group A with seven points, setting up a last-16 meeting with the runners-up from England’s group and extended their unbeaten run to 18 matches.
With Gakpo, a target for Leeds and Southampton in the summer, in the form he is the Dutch will fancy their chances in the knockout stages having failed to qualify for the last World Cup in Russia.
Not so Qatar, who have looked woefully out of their depth and are the first nation to lose three matches at a tournament they were hosting.
Having kept their opponents at bay for a quarter of the game they were undone by a relatively straightforward move as Depay dropped deep to pick up the ball and play it into Gakpo, who backheeled to Davy Klaassen and carried the return pass 10 yards further forward before beating Barsham from just inside the penalty area.
That saw him equal Johan Neeskens (in 1974), Dennis Bergkamp (1994) and Wesley Sneijder (2010) for scoring in three successive Netherlands World Cup matches but he is the first to do it in his first three.
Gakpo is also only the second player in the tournament’s history after Italy’s Alessandro Altobelli in 1986 to open the scoring on three occasions in the same group stage.
There was little…
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