FIFA World Cup: Netherlands Cody Gakpo throws hosts out of World Cup

After his sensational start to the 2022/ 23 season with PSV, the 23-year-old's performances in Qatar further demonstrated his qualities.

In the 26th minute, he scored with his right foot from the edge of the box against Qatar. Against Ecuador, he has already scored with his left foot and against Senegal, with his head.

Head coach Louis van Gaal granted Memphis Depay special status and exceptionally included the long-injured FC Barcelona striker in his squad. Still, his first start at this tournament was overshadowed by his strike partner, who now holds the role of the main attacker.

Depay's first start for a team since mid-September after a hamstring problem was a chance to improve his match fitness against an opponent who knew before kickoff that they would be eliminated from the tournament after two uninspiring defeats.

The 28-year-old initiated the move that led to Gakpo's opening goal and inadvertently provided the assist for Frenkie De Jong's goal shortly after halftime when goalkeeper Meeshal Barsham parried his shot.

The win secured first place in Group A for Van Gaal's side with seven points, and they will now face the runners-up of the English group in the round of 16.

With Gakpo being courted by Leeds and Southampton this summer, the Dutch have a good chance of qualifying for the knockout round after failing to do so at the last World Cup in Russia.

Unlike Qatar, which is entirely out of its depth and the first country to lose three games at a tournament it is hosting.

After keeping their opponents at bay for a quarter of the game, they were upset by a relatively simple move. Depay dropped deep, picked up the ball and played it to Gakpo, who ran with his back to Davy Klaassen and carried the return pass forward 10 yards before beating Barsham from the edge of the box.

That moved him to level with Johan Neeskens (1974), Dennis Bergkamp (1994) and Wesley Sneijder (2010) in scoring in three consecutive World Cup games for the Netherlands, But he is the first player to do so in his first three matches.

Gakpo is only the second player in the tournament's history to score three times in the same group stage after Italy's Alessandro Altobelli in 1986.

There was little sign of Qatar giving a response, and that changed four minutes after the break when Barsham cleared Depay's cross from close range at the far post, and De Jong reacted quicker than the defence to fire the ball into the net.

Qatar escaped with another lapse in defence when substitute Steven Berghuis' goal from VAR was disallowed for a handball by Gakpo, and the Ajax star also hit the crossbar in stoppage time.