Tag: Cody Gakpo

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Morocco beat Netherlands in dramatic World Cup shootout to reach last 16

Morocco defeated the Netherlands in a penalty shootout to advance to the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup after a thrilling battle in Monterrey finished 1-1 following extra time.

Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made the crucial save to block the Netherlands’ fourth penalty from Crysencio Summerville, before striker Ismael Saibari stepped up to blast home the winning spot-kick that sealed a 3-2 shootout win on Monday.

The victory sends Morocco into a last-16 clash with Canada in Houston on Saturday.

An enthralling match had gone to extra time after Issa Diop had glanced in a dramatic equaliser for Morocco in the first minute of stoppage time as the Netherlands had closed in on victory.

Liverpool forward Gakpo sank to the turf and appeared overcome with emotion as his teammates surrounded him in a prolonged group embrace.

But Morocco forced extra time when an unmarked Diop headed home from substitute Chemsdine Talbi’s cross in injury time.

Morocco had created the better chances in the fractious encounter, which saw players from both sides flying into tackles to test the patience of Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio.

The Atlas Lions almost took the lead on 20 minutes when Neil El Aynaoui glanced an Achraf Hakimi corner goal-wards only to be denied by a superb reflex save from Netherlands goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.

Verbruggen was pressed into action moments later, this time doing well to tip a vicious strike from Hakimi over the bar.

The fierce nature of the contest was on full display midway through the half, when Saibari was lucky to escape sanction after elbowing Jan Paul van Hecke in the face.

The Dutch continued to enjoy plenty of possession but were unable to convert it into goalscoring chances.

Their best effort came on 44 minutes, when Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven uncorked a ferocious shot from the edge of the area that was tipped over by Bounou.

Van Hecke continued to find himself in the thick of the action, and after bloodying his head in a collision in the penalty area, made his presence felt with a crunching tackle that upended El Aynaoui just before half-time.

As the half ended, Saibari just failed to connect with a cross that flashed across the Dutch goal before going behind.

The drama continued into an end-to-end second half, but appeared to have tilted in the Netherlands’ favour when coach Ronald Koeman brought on forward Wout Weghorst in a flurry of substitutions after the hydration break.

Weghorst made an immediate impact, flicking on a long ball to send Summerville bearing in on goal. Summerville crossed to Gakpo, who hurled himself at the ball to score.

The Netherlands, superbly marshalled by Gakpo’s Liverpool teammate Virgil van Dijk, appeared to be heading for victory, but Diop’s late header sent it to extra time.

Morocco looked to have made the breakthrough when Soufiane Rahimi went through on goal in the 96th minute, only to be denied by a jaw-dropping save from Verbruggen.

The Netherlands held on for penalties, but despite Morocco missing their first when El Aynaoui hit the bar, the North Africans recovered to win. (AlJazeera)

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Netherlands routs Sweden 5-1 to lead Group F

Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo scored two goals apiece to power Netherlands to a 5-1 win over Sweden on Saturday in the World Cup to bounce back after a disappointing draw in its opener and move atop the Group F standings.

Brobbey’s goals came in the first half, helping the Netherlands get off to a great start and roll to the big win after playing Japan to a 2-2 draw Sunday.

The victory gives Netherlands a group-leading four points. Sweden has three points, with Japan and Tunisia scheduled to play later Saturday.

Gakpo, who also had an assist, extended the lead to 3-0 just after halftime, scoring in the 47th minute off a cross from Denzel Dumfries. He matched Brobbey when he scored on a right-footed shot from the left box in the 54th minute.

Sweden couldn’t build on its strong performance in a 5-1 walloping of Tunisia in its first match. The loss to the Dutch was its biggest World Cup defeat since losing 7-1 to Brazil in 1950.

The Dutch gameplan to play out wide to open up Sweden and cross to Brobbey worked perfectly early. He put the Netherlands on top in the fifth minute when Gakpo crossed into the middle of the box and Brobbey one-timed it with his right foot before tumbling forward to the grass.

His second goal came when he took a cross from Dumfries while sliding and just got his right foot on the ball, scoring inside the far post in the 17th minute.

Anthony Elanga’s left-footed goal cut the lead to 4-1 in the 59th minute and allowed Sweden to avoid the shutout.

Sweden had plenty of chances to score before that, but Netherlands’ goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen was brilliant in the first half with four saves.

Sweden appeared to have cut the lead to 2-1 on a header by Gustaf Lagerbielke in the 44th minute, but he was ruled offside. Lagerbielke is a baron from a noble family in Sweden. His father and grandfather are counts.But he wasn’t the only royalty in the stadium Saturday as the Netherlands had two very special guests cheering them on with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima watching from a luxury suite.

But he wasn’t the only royalty in the stadium Saturday as the Netherlands had two very special guests cheering them on with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima watching from a luxury suite.

The crowd of 68,777 was largely made up of fans of the Netherlands, many of whom made their Oranje Fanwalk 2 1/2 miles from Rice University to Houston Stadium on Saturday morning.

Crysencio Summerville, who assisted on Gakpo’s second goal, tacked on a goal for Netherlands in the 89th minute and celebrated with NBA star Steph Curry’s “night night” gesture.

Sweden finishes group play Thursday night against Japan at Dallas Stadium, and Netherlands meets Tunisia that night in Kansas City. (JapanToday)

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Manchester United beats Liverpool 2-1 with Maguire’s late goal in big boost for Amorim

After nine painful years, and at the 11th time of asking, Manchester United ended its Anfield hoodoo with a 2-1 win against Premier League defending champion Liverpool on Sunday.

Harry Maguire’s header in the 84th minute sealed one of United’s most significant wins under coach Ruben Amorim and consigned Liverpool to a fourth straight defeat in all competitions.

The frustration of so many miserable experiences on Merseyside appeared to pour out of Maguire as the defender celebrated in front of United’s traveling fans.

“It means everything. They’ve had the better of us over the last few years and we know that and it hasn’t been good enough for our club,” Maguire said. “The old cliche is that it is only three points, but it definitely isn’t. It means a lot more than that for the club, the boys and the fans.”

Maguire’s goal came late in another frenetic and thrilling match involving Liverpool in a season of dramatic finales for Arne Slot’s team.

That’s three league games in a row in which Liverpool has been beaten by a goal scored in the last 10 minutes of regulation time or beyond. Before that, it had scraped to late wins of its own in six of the first seven games.

So while Maguire’s headed goal maintained the losing trend, perhaps the biggest surprise was that there wasn’t another twist in the tale.

There might have been when Cody Gakpo headed wide with an open goal to aim at and the fourth official indicated there would be eight minutes of added time.

The Dutch forward had already got Liverpool back on level terms in the 78th – poking in from close range after Bryan Mbeumo had fired United ahead inside two minutes.

United’s last win at Anfield came back in 2016 when Wayne Rooney scored the only goal of the match. Since then there have been some humiliating defeats, notably the 7-0 rout in 2023 and a 4-0 loss a year earlier.

Not only has Amorim ended that bitter run, but he also collected back-to-back wins in the league for the first time since taking over at United last November.

The Portuguese coach has been under increasing pressure, with speculation mounting over his position after a troubled start to his first full season in charge. While United is ninth in the standings, it is only two points off the top four and such a morale-boosting performance could finally prove a turning point for Amorim.

Defeat for Liverpool raises more doubts about its wobbling title defense, leaving it fourth and four points behind leader Arsenal.

That is not an insurmountable gap but the run of four straight defeats extends what was already Slot’s worst run as Liverpool coach and further highlights weaknesses in his team.

Liverpool has only kept two clean sheets in 12 games in all competitions this season and a creaking defense continues to be breached late on in games.

In attack, Mohamed Salah’s only goal in his last seven league games was a penalty against Burnley, while British record signing Alexander Isak has only scored one goal in seven appearances since joining from Newcastle.

“We have to stick together. Not just as players but the fans and everyone,” said Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk. “First and foremost we have to stay humble, and stay working. We need to keep our confidence high and stay very calm.”

Emi Buendia’s curling shot sealed a 2-1 comeback win for Aston Villa against Tottenham.

The victory continued Villa’s resurgence after a desperate start to the season and denied Spurs the chance to provisionally move up to second in the standings.

Buendia shimmied his way across the edge of the box in the 77th minute at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before sweeping a perfect shot low into the bottom corner.

It was Villa’s fifth-straight win in all competitions after failing to pick up a victory in its first six games of the campaign.

It ended Spurs’ seven-game unbeaten run that looked set to continue when Rodrigo Bentancur fired the home team ahead after just five minutes.

Morgan Rogers leveled the game in the 37th before Villa went on to take all three points and consign Tottenham coach Thomas Frank to his second league loss since taking over in the summer. (JapanToday)