Ryan Gravenberch‘s promising start to the season continued with the Netherlands in only his third senior cap, while Cody Gakpo opened his account for the season in a 5-2 victory.
After sitting on the bench for the entirety of the Netherlands’ run to the semi-finals of the Euros, Gravenberch’s form for Liverpool was rewarded by Ronald Koeman on Saturday.
He started alongside Virgil van Dijk and Gakpo against Bosnia and Herzegovina, playing in a slightly more advanced role in a midfield double-pivot as he did against Man United.
Football-Oranje.com hailed the 22-year-old as “a man in top form” and noted “his confidence showed throughout the game,” while Voetbal Zone gave him a rating of 7.5-out-of-10.
Gravenberch played the full 90 minutes and as per FotMob, finished with the most successful dribbles (2), interceptions (3) and recoveries (8), while also creating two chances.
Ryan Gravenberch vs Bosnia.
Liverpool fans rejoice.
We have one of the best performing midfielders in Europe this season.
[@zaki10ii]pic.twitter.com/BuCoZ4lVFt— Watch LFC (@Watch_LFC) September 7, 2024
It is only the second time Gravenberch has played the full 90 minutes at senior level for his country, but his early season form suggests there are more to come.
As for Gakpo, he scored the Netherlands’ third goal of the evening and his first of the season with a close-range finish – a move set up by a line-breaking pass from Gravenberch.
That is now four goals across Gakpo’s last seven international appearances.
He played 66 minutes in a match that saw the Netherlands take the lead in the 13th minute, though there was criticism for the Dutch side’s defence throughout as Van Dijk and Matthijs de Ligt were often pulled out of position.
Thankfully, Liverpool’s Dutch trio emerged unscathed from the clash, and the hope is the same will be said after their final game of the break against Germany on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, Kostas Tsimikas might not officially be credited with an assist for Greece in their 3-0 win over Finland due to their second strike going down as an own goal, but we’re counting it!
Dominik Szoboszlai‘s Hungary, meanwhile, were humbled 5-0 by Germany – the duo both played the full 90 minutes.
