Arsenal target Cody Gakpo becomes joint leader in World Cup 2022 Golden Boot race
Cody Gakpo has scored in all three of his appearances for the Netherlands at World Cup 2022
Cody Gakpo’s terrific World Cup 2022 form continued against Qatar as the Netherlands striker netted his third goal in as many games to become the joint leader in the Golden Boot race.
The PSV forward has been one of the standout performers of the tournament so far, scoring in all three of his appearances for the Oranje.
His latest strike was a beauty to open the scoring against already-eliminated hosts Qatar; Gakpo burst into the box and fired a low shot into the bottom corner.
He is some talent this kid! 🙌Cody Gakpo puts his side in the lead, joining Bergkamp, Sneijder and Neeskens as Dutch players to score in 3 consecutive World Cup matches! 🤔Could we see a big money move some time soon for the PSV side? 🤔#ITVFootball | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/PGGDzsxPnLNovember 29, 2022
The 23-year-old’s latest strike put him joint-top of the World Cup 2022 top scorers chart, alongside France’s Kylian Mbappe and Enner Valencia of Ecuador.
It also set Louis van Gaal’s side on course to clinch a place in the knockout stages against one of the teams in Group B: England, Iran, USA or Wales.
Gakpo made history, too. He is only the fourth Dutch player to score in three consecutive World Cup games, following in the illustrious footsteps of Johan Neeskens (1974), Dennis Bergkamp (1994) and Wesley Sneijder (2010).
It’s little wonder, then, that the Dutch sensation has reportedly attracted interest from the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool.
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He said before the Qatar game that it was “always nice to hear of such rumours”, which will only further fuel the speculation about his future.
Gakpo, who has a contract until 2026 with PSV, is valued at €45m (£39m) by Transfermarkt – although that figure will surely rise after his performances in Qatar.
Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.