Liverpool have 10 players now putting the final touches to their Euro 2024 preparations.
Along with four stars heading for the Copa America in the USA, the Reds players’ bound for Germany is in double figures.
With so many of the first-team squad off dreaming of glory for their nations, it stands to reason that not all of them will be automatic starters.
Clearly, that does not apply to the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Dominik Szoboszlai and Andy Robertson. All three will proudly captain their country’s over the next month.
For others though, their place in their respective teams will not be guaranteed. And for Cody Gakpo in particular, he may just have lost it.
Cody Gakpo’s Netherlands spot in trouble
Liverpool fans have plenty to enjoy as Euro 2024 lies on the horizon. We’d all rather be watching Arne Slot’s first forays into life at Anfield of course, but it will do.
Robertson and Scotland kick the tournament off on Friday evening with a game against hosts Germany in Munich. That will be some occasion.
In terms of choosing a team to root for, Liverpool supporters who don’t have a horse in the race shouldn’t have much hesitation. It can surely only be the Netherlands.
Not only are they led by Liverpool legend Van Dijk, but they also boast two further Reds players; Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch. Gravenberch got his first start in over three years on Thursday and seemed to do relatively well.
READ MORE: Dutch national press give their verdict on Virgil van Dijk’s display in 4-0 win over Iceland
One player who did not feature in that 4-0 win over Canada was Gakpo. Instead, the 25-year-old got a start during Monday’s victory over Iceland.
With so much chopping and changing, Ronald Koeman is clearly still trying to work out his strongest team. And according to Dutch outlet AD, that may now no longer contain Gakpo.
Although he scored a reasonable six point five out of ten and is said to have ‘showed himself,’ the Liverpool forward was replaced by Donyell Malen with 15 minutes left. Malen duly scored, as did fellow substitute Wout Weghorst.
This is noted by AD, who suggest that Gakpo is now going to have to fight off ‘strong competition’ to get a start in Germany.
Big summer ahead for Cody Gakpo
Although Gakpo’s form had been patchy over the season for Liverpool, the national team had often given him some much needed respite.
But there’s only so long poor form will go unnoticed. With a big tournament lying in wait, Gakpo needs to up his game.
Thankfully, the former PSV Eindhoven man does have one card left to play in his back pocket. He was superb at the most recent international tournament for the Netherlands.
Gakpo’s displays in the 2022 World Cup were quite possibly what convinced Liverpool to pull the trigger on him the following January.
If he can do something similar when given the chance in Germany, he’ll be in the starting XI in no time at all.
But it Gakpo fails to spark while others around him are doing the business, he’ll no doubt find himself back on the bench. As he aims to hit the ground running under Slot, which way this swings will be crucial to Cody’s chances of doing just that.