- Cody Gakpo scored and provided an assist during his side’s 3-0 win vs Romania
- The Netherlands will now take on Turkey in the quarter-final of Euro 2024
- LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! EUROS DAILY: Why Gareth Southgate should wield the axe for Switzerland quarter-final
Rafael van der Vaart has lumped some bizarre praise on Liverpool star Cody Gakpo, claiming the Netherlands winger could make ‘defenders s*** their pants’.
It came after the Liverpool star impressed during the Netherlands’ 3-0 victory against Romania on Tuesday night.
The victory saw Ronald Koeman’s side set up a quarter-final clash against Turkey, with the 25-year-old both scoring and setting up Donyell Malen with an assist in the second half.
His first-half strike, a stunning low effort that beat Romania goalkeeper Florin Nita at the near post, puts him joint-top of the Euro 2024 top scorers charts, alongside Jamal Musiala, Georges Mikautadze and Ivan Schranz.
Gakpo was subsequently named the Player of the Match following his excellent performance, with many fans taking to social media to lump praise on the Dutchman.
Cody Gakpo (pictured) impressed during the Netherlands’ 3-0 win vs Romania on Tuesday
Gakpo (right) scored and produced an assist to help his side advance to the quarter-finals
Rafael van Der Vaart (pictured) stated that ‘there aren’t many players like Gakpo who could make defenders s*** themselves’
Van der Vaart, was similarly impressed by his performance, hailing his compatriot with a bizarre claim.
‘There are not many players who could receive the ball and who could make a defender s*** their pants,’ he said according to Anfield Sector.
‘Gakpo is one of them,’ the former Real Madrid star added.
Impressively, Gakpo has now scored 12 goals in 28 appearances for his national side, with the Dutch star having notably also found the back of the net three times at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Speaking on his side’s performance on Tuesday, Gakpo said: ‘We played a good game and showed a great reaction from the last one and very pleased.
‘I agree, after the last game we needed a reaction and today was a good step in the right direction,’ Gakpo said. ‘We talked a lot about the aggression and intensity and defending like a team and it was a good step today again and very happy we won and played a good game.’
Gakpo notably celebrated his first-half goal with the team’s physio and the Netherland’s star revealed why after the match.
The Netherlands star was voted the Player of the Match following his excellent performance
Gakpo (right) is now joint-top of the Euro 2024 Golden Boot race with three goals so far in Germany
‘He [the physio] told me yesterday that I was going to score the first goal today. I said: “If I do that then I’ll come to you then.”‘
On the performance, he added: ‘Yeah I think that was the performance sacrifice and working very hard for each other to do our best and I’m happy that I could assist Donny with the goal – good game overall.’