Dirk Kuyt has positive message for Liverpool fans on Gakpo & Slot

Dirk Kuyt has positive message for Liverpool fans on Cody Gakpo and Arne Slot ahead of the Netherlands v England at Euro 2024.

• "Cody Gakpo is doing really well at Euro 2024; he's already scored three goals... he looks like a player who can score at any moment, which is great for us. He's capable of making an impact from anywhere."
• "Expectations are very high, and I think the best is still to come. One thing he has done at the Euros is show everyone that he's ready to be an important player at the highest level."
• "I know Arne Slot, and his style of playing, and I think Cody [Gakpo] will fit in excellently... and I'm sure he'll be used out wide."
• [On Netherlands] "In the midfield there's a lot of inexperience. Their talent is unquestionable, but not many of those players have the experience of playing at such an important tournament. The consistency in midfield drops at times."
• [On France] "When you've got that at the back, and you've got the quality players which they possess, going forward, you've always got to be considered favourites to win a tournament - even if you've struggled in front of goal up to this point."

Cody Gakpo is doing really well in this tournament; he's already scored three goals... he looks like a player who can score at any moment, which is great for us. He's capable of making an impact from anywhere; I've seen a lot of people compare him to Arjen Robben, but from the opposite wing - he has that ability to cut inside and can score at any time. His assist against Romania was fantastic, too. 

I really like Cody as a Liverpool player. He arrived at a difficult time, really, immediately after the World Cup in 2022, during the winter break. In that moment, Liverpool were dealing with a lot of injuries, and so Jurgen Klopp had to put him straight into the first-team. I thought he did quite well early on, but I know as well as anyone that it's a huge step to go from the Eredivisie to the Premier League. 

He did well in his first six months at the club, and in his second season, again, I thought he had some very good games. Expectations are very high, and I think the best is still to come. One thing he has done at the Euros is show everyone that he's ready to be an important player at the highest level. I think I'm right in saying he's scored 12 goals for Holland, and half of them have come at major tournaments... three in the World Cup and three in the Euros.

There's a decision to be made now, for the new manager; what is his best position for Liverpool? You can see when he's not playing as a striker, but from the left-hand side, that he can be pretty dangerous. The fact is that Cody can play in many different positions, and the good thing about him is that he has the mentality to give his everything, regardless of where the manager puts him. But, if you're asking me, I think he's most dangerous when he's playing on the left. 

I know Arne Slot, and his style of playing, and I think Cody will fit in excellently... and I'm sure he'll be used out wide. 

I think we had a decent start to the tournament, beating Poland in the opening game. We were a bit unlucky against France who, in my opinion, are still one of the favourites for the tournament. And then, after that, the game against Austria was very disappointing, both for the team and for the fans. But in the most recent game, against Romania, I thought that was a very good game for Holland; a very solid game in which we created a lot of chances. The only thing which could have been better, in my opinion, was the amount of goals we scored. But hopefully, that result will give the team a lot of confidence, going into the next game on Saturday night. 

Xavi Simons was playing in the number 10 role in that game against Romania, and I know that was something Ronald Koeman was looking for. If you watch the Dutch team, you'll see they've got so much experience in those forward areas, and in defence, but in the midfield there's a lot of inexperience. Their talent is unquestionable, but not many of those players have the experience of playing at such an important tournament. The consistency in midfield drops at times, and while it worked really well in the last game against Romania, we saw the level drop in the game before that, against Austria - and that was largely down to the intensity of that Austrian team.

 I'm quite happy with this team, though. It happens a lot, you know; there'll be a mixture of experience and youth, and you just have to make the best out of it. The good thing about Ronald Koeman at the moment, is that he's stuck to his plan, and he didn't change things after the loss against Austria. I'm sure they'll have talked about a lot of things, and he'll have addressed areas that needed improving, but he's basically stuck to the same players. He's not afraid to trust his younger players, and that's a great quality for any manager to have. 

The atmosphere in Holland goes up and down, in keeping with the team performances, to be honest. You know, when we almost beat France, people were very enthusiastic, and heading into the tournament, people were hopeful because we'd had a couple of really positive results. But, then, after Austria, the mood really dropped. Since then, we've won again, and everyone is excited again. This is the beauty of tournament football; it's a bit like how it was in 1988, when we won the Euros, also in Germany. We got beat in our opening game back then, and struggled against Ireland, relying on a goal in the dying minutes. And, after that, they just got better and better, scored some great goals and won the tournament. In football, everything is possible.

If you're asking me who has played the best football so far, I would say Spain. If you're asking me who has the most quality in their squad, it would probably be France. I saw a lot of France in the group stage, and they were not at their best. Going forward, they could be doing much better than what we've currently seen. But when you see the way they're defending at the moment, it's incredible. They don't give much away at all; they have some amazing players in defence. When you've got that at the back, and you've got the quality players which they possess, going forward, you've always got to be considered favourites to win a tournament - even if you've struggled in front of goal up to this point. For me, France and Spain are the favourites, but Spain are definitely playing the best football. 

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