Three Liverpool players crashed out of Euro 2024 at the semi-final stage on Thursday.
The Reds sent 10 players to star for their countries during the summer tournament in Germany.
With only the final now left to play, eight of the Liverpool squad have been knocked out. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez represent the last Reds in with a shot at glory.
Alexander-Arnold and Gomez qualified for Sunday’s final after beating the Netherlands in Dortmund. Having seen their England team win 2-1, they sent Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch home.
Although Gravenberch didn’t get on the pitch on Thursday – or at all during the tournament – Van Dijk and Gakpo played the full 90 minutes for the Netherlands.
Verdict given on Cody Gakpo and Virgil van Dijk
Although the Netherlands had not been favourites to win the Euros before the competition started, they gave a good account of themselves in Germany.
There were some hiccups along the way – losing to Austria and coming third in the group was a low point – but by and large they did well.
A creditable draw with France, a thumping of an impressive Romania side and a come-from-behind win against Turkey showed the steel the Oranje have in the team.
Prior to the England game, Gakpo had been the best player for the Netherlands. Having scored three goals and been electric from the left, Gakpo earned praise from Arne Slot.
READ MORE: Virgil van Dijk fumes about what England vs Netherlands referee did at full-time
However, the Liverpool winger found the going a little tougher against England. Handed a five out of ten rating by Dutch outlet AD, it’s clear that it was not Gakpo’s best night.
They report that ‘nothing worked’ for the 25-year-old who did not get into the game until after the hour mark. Despite being praised for a ‘good’ tournament, it’s claimed that Gakpo ‘couldn’t get loose’ from the attention of Kyle Walker on the night.
As for Van Dijk, he’s rated slightly better and given a six out of ten. However, it is noted that the ball for Ollie Watkins’ winning goal was played in in view of the captain.
His frustration with referee Felix Zwayer is also mentioned, as is the fact that the man who denied him an appearance at Euro 2020 – Jordan Pickford – kept out a good chance for Van Dijk in the second-half.
When will Liverpool’s Dutch trio return to training?
Away from the international football, Liverpool’s pre-season preparations are continuing at the AXA Training Centre.
With the likes of Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo returning on Wednesday, we should start to see more players coming back over the coming days.
For Van Dijk, Gravenberch and Gakpo, it’s likely that they will be given three weeks or so off before reporting back.
As a result, it could be very early August by the time we see any of them.
However, we’d suggest that given he did not play at all and does need to impress Slot, perhaps Gravenberch could be back sooner.
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