Cody Gakpo scored twice and notched an assist for the Netherlands in a dominant 4-0 win, but Jeremie Frimpong‘s position earned mixed reviews from the media and his manager.
All four of Liverpool’s Dutch contingent started in their World Cup qualifier against Malta, with Gakpo assuming the role on the left wing and Frimpong on the right.
Liverpool’s No. 18 opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 12th minute, and he converted a second just four minutes into the second half.
Gakpo also notched an assist by setting up Man City‘s Tijjani Reijnders for the Netherlands’ third goal of the night, with Memphis Depay finishing the scoring in stoppage time – by which point Gakpo had been subbed off.
- Virgil van Dijk: 90 mins vs. Malta
- Ryan Gravenberch: 90 mins
- Cody Gakpo: 84 mins
- Jeremie Frimpong: 67 mins
The performance earned Gakpo the highest rating from FotMob of 9.5-out-of-10, and a rare feat.
According to OptaJohan, Gakpo is the first Netherlands player to score twice from the penalty spot in a single game since Rob Rensenbrink against Iran at the 1978 World Cup.
Jeremie Frimpong mixed verdict as a winger
• READ: Liverpool injury latest: Alisson, Endo, Konate and 4 more
Frimpong was utilised as a right winger by Ronald Koeman against Malta, with the 24-year-old playing ahead of Denzel Dumfries.
As per FotMob, he completed the most dribbles in the match (6/7), had the most touches in the opposition box (13), and won 72.7 percent of his duels (8/11).
The Dutch media, however, were not so convinced by his performance on the wing, with De Telegraaf writing that his performance will “reignite the debate about whether Frimpong is actually a winger.”
After one accurate cross from five attempts, they added: “His first crosses went generously over the penalty area. He doesn’t have a great cross and is also far too hasty for a winger.
“After a good move, he often doesn’t know how to follow through.”
There was no beating around the bush with that assessment, but Koeman did not quite agree.
“I thought Frimpong was a real threat,” Koeman said, Voetal International. “There wasn’t always danger coming from the right wing, which means Denzel has to get inside more. That’s improving all the time.
“Donyell Malen might have been pushing inside a bit more than Frimpong. We can work on that, and we absolutely must, but yeah…it’s going well.”
Fan Comments