The China Mail - Gakpo savours 'freedom' to fire Dutch in World Cup title bid

The forward set up Brian Brobbey for the opening goal and grabbed two himself in the second half as the Netherlands dismantled Sweden 5-1 in Houston on Saturday.

After being held 2-2 by Japan, it gave Ronald Koeman's side liftoff at the tournament in North America and put them on the brink of the last 32.

In a Group F encounter packed with top Premier League attacking talent, including Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres for Sweden, Gakpo topped the billing.

"He's an outstanding footballer," Netherlands and Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said of his Anfield team-mate.

"He works so hard for the team, he's disciplined for the team, his quality stands out -- his crosses, his assists, his goals."

Playing off the left, the 27-year-old Gakpo used his pace and power to skip down the inside and provide a pinpoint low cross for Brobbey to score after only five minutes.

With the Dutch leading 2-0 at the break after a second from Brobbey, Gakpo effectively killed off Sweden two minutes after the restart as he stole in to prod home from close range.

He grabbed his second seven minutes later, profiting from more lax Sweden defending to turn inside onto his right foot and lash the ball past an exposed Kristoffer Nordfeldt.

- 'Freedom' -

Gakpo, who can also play in a central role in attack, scored seven times in 36 games in the league last season as Liverpool miserably failed to retain their domestic crown.

Manager Arne Slot was subsequently sacked, and Gakpo did not escape criticism either, at times looking short of confidence and failing to consistently impact matches.

Some Liverpool fans derided him as a hard-working but limited player.

It did not help that Slot appeared not sure how to best use his attacking options that also included Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Mohamed Salah, Florian Wirtz and the fast-emerging Rio Ngumoha.

But Gakpo is a different beast for the Dutch, especially on the biggest stages.

He has 23 goals and 12 assists in 52 appearances for his country since making his debut five years ago.

Still then a bit of an unknown quantity to global football fans, he scored in all three group games at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

That heralded a move from PSV Eindhoven to Anfield for a reported initial fee of £37 million (now $50 million).

Under countryman Slot, Gakpo scored 10 times as Liverpool won the Premier League in the coach's first season in 2024-25.

Yet there has always been a nagging feeling that it is for his country that he hits his best form.

He was joint top scorer at the 2024 Euros with three goals as the Netherlands lost in the semi-finals to England.

After turning it on once more to help destroy the Swedes on Saturday, Gakpo was asked about his role with his country versus that with his club.

"A good question. Obviously it's a little bit different," he replied.

"It's different where the coach wants me to be, the freedom I have (compared to) at Liverpool."

Perhaps it helps that, in contrast to at Liverpool, Koeman has made it clear that Gakpo is one of his main men.

The captain Van Dijk said: "He's very important for us, we want him to stay like that."

T.Wu--ThChM