Euro 2024 has not always been kind to the Liverpool players starring in it so far.
The Reds initially saw 10 of their squad head to Germany to try and fire their country’s to continental glory.
However, with the tournament now at the quarter-final stage, three of those Liverpool players have been eliminated.
Out of the seven still left in the competition, three are yet to even play a minute. You can only imagine what Ryan Gravenberch, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez are thinking.
The remaining four have all had a mixed time of things, too. However, things got a whole lot better for one Liverpool star on Tuesday.
Daniel Sturridge shocked by Cody Gakpo display
Given that the seven Liverpool players are spread across four teams, there feels like a good chance that at least one of them wins it. Or gets to the final, certainly.
Diogo Jota and Konate face each other in the quarters, with the Frenchman unlikely to play, but other than that they have all avoided an Anfield reunion.
For Liverpool fans who don’t have a dog in the fight, they’ll probably be throwing their weight behind the Netherlands.
With three members of the Liverpool squad in their group, they are the best represented of all of the nations and also happen to be where our new head coach, Arne Slot, hails from.
READ MORE: Liverpool player admits annoyance at lack of game time during Euro 2024
After Tuesday, Slot and his countrymen may be quietly confident of going all the way. A 3-0 win over Romania set up a quarter-final date with Turkey.
As it turns out, their hopes of doing so rest quite heavily on the shoulders of Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo. Gakpo has had a good tournament so far, shining in a left-sided forward role.
That continued on Tuesday as the 25-year-old cut inside and blasted home the Oranje’s opening goal – his third of the competition. And taking to X after the game, former Reds striker Daniel Sturridge admitted that Gakpo has looked totally transformed.
“Gakpo is a different player for Netherlands man,” Sturridge pondered. “Gotta get the best out of him at LFC.”
How to get the best out of Cody Gakpo
Having managed plenty against PSV Eindhoven during his time in the Netherlands, Slot will be well aware of Gakpo’s quality.
You’d also imagine that the Dutch coach has been watching closely as his country aim to win their first international tournament since 1988.
As a result, we’d imagine that Slot is formulating a team that sees Gakpo feature from the left-hand side of the attack.
For Liverpool he has often been playing centrally or even in a deeper role. But it’s clear that cutting in onto his right foot from the left is what Gakpo does best. Slot has to utilise that.
In some ways, it feels as though the £44m man’s explosion at Euro 2024 is an answer to Liverpool’s reported interest in Anthony Gordon.
Through his displays in Germany Gakpo is showing that Liverpool do not need another option on the left-wing. They already have what they need at home. Now it’s time to transfer that into a Liverpool shirt, Cody.
