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CODY GAKPO is a man for the big occasion.
That’s not a phrase Liverpool fans have found themselves saying much, if at all.
Getty
Getty
But it was the Anfield wideman who propelled Holland into the last eight with a goal and an assist for Donyell Malan, who also grabbed the third.
In truth, the Dutch should have had a few more against a Romania team that faded badly after a rousing start.
This was an impressive display from Ronald Koeman’s men, a strong response to the criticism and disappointment of the 3-2 defeat by Austria in their final group game.
Gakpo’s first-half goal put him joint top of the goalscoring charts with three.
Added to the three he grabbed at the Qatar World Cup, six of his 12 strikes for his country have now come at major tournaments.
It was here in Munich, but at the Olympiastadion, that Koeman and co-won Holland’s only significant trophy when they beat the USSR in the 1988 Europan Championship final.
After this confidence-boosting display, and with a favourable draw, they should fancy their chances of earning another tilt at glory.
Gakpo’s goal changed the game and the whole mood in the stadium.
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After noisy, dominant displays at their group games, the Dutch fans found themselves outnumbered and outgunned in Munich.
Although the main yellow and orange sections were roughly equal in size, in the rest of the stadium Romanians were in the majority.
Their national anthem is stirring stuff when sung at high volume, as they proclaim that Roman blood still flows through their veins thanks to the conquest by Emperor Trajan nearly 2,000 years ago.
Romania started like a team inspired by history and the prospect of making more by reaching the last eight of a major tournament for only the third time.
Roared on by the crowd, they threw themselves into challenges and charged at the Dutch backline.
A better pass from Ianis Hagi might have freed frontman Denis Dragus.
A better touch from Dragus when he did get in behind Stefan De Vrij would have given him a chance to open the scoring.
Dennis Man fired just over the bar and the Dutch looked rattled.
Then Koeman’s side took the lead out of pretty much nothing and it was a very bad goal to concede.
The ball was worked out to Gakpo on the left, and for sure, he was running at pace.
But Romania’s blue-haired right back, Andrei Ratiu, made an even bigger spectacle of himself by showing the Liverpool iwdeman the inside as if he had never seen him play.
Goalkeeper Florin Nita could only flap a weak pair of hands at Gakpo’s shot, and in it went at his near post.
Hagi and Man both had shots off target before the Dutch fans behind Nita’s goal celebrated a second goal, only to realise that De Vrij’s header from Memphis Depay’s corner had gone into the side netting.
Then it took a fine bit of defending by Tottenham’s Radu Dragusin to stop Steven Bergwijn’s cross reaching Depay.
The former Manchester United man was increasingly able to sneak into dangerous positions despite his distinctive white headband.
Twice more Holland could have extended their lead. First Tijjani Reijnders took too long to shoot, then Xavi Simons dallied even longer, after more good work by Dumfries, before hitting the ball tamely shooting tamely wide.
Romania had a couple of surges late in the half, but you still felt boss Edward Iordanescu needed to deliver the team of his life at halftime to help his team rediscover their initial aggression and purpose.
It didn’t look like he had.
Reijnders was allowed to run half the length of the pitch before his shot was blocked.
Then Depay seemed to panic with the goal at his mercy after half-time sub-Donyell Malen’s shot was deflected into his path. Nita gratefully dropped on the ball.
Malen wasted a three-on-two break and from the resulting Depay corner, Virgil Van Dijk grazed a post with a header.
Then it was Gakpo’s turn to run opposed deep into the Romanian half, and he forced Nita into a decent stop. He had the ball in the net after the corner that followed, but VAR ruled it out for a clear offside.
That reprieve woke up the Romanian crowd. But not their team was still on the rack, with Depay sending a free kick just wide.
Gakpo teed up substitute Joey Veerman with a brilliant backheel but again the target was narrowly missed. Simons almost scored by accident when the ball was cleared onto him and then Malen mucked up another overload that ended with Gakpo’s shot being blocked.
Finally, the second goal arrived with seven minutes to go.
Tottenham defender Radu Dragusin allowed Gakpo to wriggle past him on the byline and even Malen couldn’t miss from inside the six-yard box.
And the Borussia Dortmund forward wrapped it up deep in stoppage time with a good finish after another pacy break.
If Gakpo keeps shining brighter in orange than he does in red, then Holland could go all the way.
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