Confident and expressive Cody Gakpo impresses in the Dutch set-up... the forward has greater certainty in his role under Ronald Koeman after becoming utility player at Liverpool

The Cody Gakpo talking in the depths of Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion on Sunday night sounded like the player Jurgen Klopp always said he would be. Confident, expressive, easy with the critique he brought of his own game.

‘It’s up to me to make the right decisions on the spot,’ the Liverpool player said. ‘In some situations, I could have made better decisions. People think if you take good decisions you will always find the net – but it’s not the case.’

He was right. There’s no disguising that the 25-year-old spurned a good first half chance to put the Netherlands ahead against Poland, minutes after his deflected shot had delivered their equaliser. But he was the best of the Dutch attacking options, playing with his head up, running at defenders, seeing the possibilities and linking well with Nathan Ake. For what it’s worth, he was the UEFA man of the match.

His manager thought the Dutch team should have exploited his ability more. ‘We played too much on the right wing and there was more space on the left,’ Ronald Koeman said. ‘Cody played very well. He was dangerous and we should give him the ball more often.’

When Gakpo signed for Liverpool from PSV Eindhoven in the winter of 2022, with Manchester United also interested, Klopp said there had been a need to move quickly before he became a ‘40-goal player’ somewhere else, who would quickly become unaffordable. ‘The position he played most often [at Eindhoven] is obviously the left wing but he can play in different positions up front,’ Klopp said at the time.

But it can be complicated at a club like Liverpool. A preference for Luis Diaz on the left contributed to Gakpo becoming a utility player last season.

After a good finish as a central striker in his first half-season, he found himself a central midfield role to which he was manifestly less suited, struggling with the defensive elements of that role, and then lacking consistency. 

Even the centre forward roles were few and far between and after scoring only twice by the turn of the year, he looked like a player short on belief. ‘Cody had a bit of a struggle and it was more my fault,’ Klopp said in February. ‘We asked, “Can Cody play a midfield position for us?” Yes, he can in different moments. Is it his position? I would say “no.”’

It can be hard to turn on performances like a switch. Gakpo didn’t impress against Manchester United in the disappointing FA Cup quarter-final and there had been a discussion with Klopp before he ended the season relatively well. That he impressed from the left wing in the defeat of Tottenham at Anfield was a reminder of the player he always wanted to be.

He’s been clear about his struggles as a utility player. ‘It’s tricky, but in the end, it also makes you a better player, I think,’ he said before this tournament. ‘You have to adapt your game again and again. I have always tried my best and tried to fill it in as best I can. Sometimes that went very well, and sometimes it didn’t go very well.’

The Dutch set-up brings greater certainty about his role and far more clarity. Koeman mentioned the left-wing position to him two months ago and there was no change to that before the squad met up. Koeman’s only message to him was, ‘Stay fit.’

A more balanced Dutch attack would serve him well. With Wout Weghorst leading the line against France on Friday, both Gakpo on the left and Denzil Dumfries, bombing down the right, would have a target. The player feels that France will provide more space to attack. ‘It will be a totally different match,’ he said. ‘They have more qualities, a different playing style and the spaces will be different.’ A decent opening game doesn’t make a summer but there were signs in Hamburg of the Liverpool player Gakpo could be.