Ghanaian player Cody Gakpo(Eredivesie club) who could have played for Ghana

Cody Gakpo PSV’s early professional years

Gakpo was born in Eindhoven and grew up in the Stratum neighborhood of the city. In contrast to his mother, who is of Dutch descent, his father was born in Togo and has Ghanaian heritage. His professional career began in 2007 when he joined the PSV Eindhoven development program, where he advanced through the club’s many youth teams. The 2016–17 season saw him make his debut with Jong PSV’s reserve team, however he was mostly associated with the club’s U19 squad during the season. Gakpo made his professional debut for Jong PSV on November 4, 2016, in a match against Helmond Sport, in the Eerste Divisie of the Netherlands. After that, he only made one more appearance for Jong PSV over the remainder of the season. In the next season’s U19 Eredivisie, he boosted his output even further, scoring seven goals and providing five assists in 13 league games. He was eventually promoted to the reserves at the turn of the calendar year. A brace and an assist were on his team’s third goal in their 3–2 away victory over De Graafschap on 19 January 2017, his second appearance in the Eerste Divisie, which was his second appearance in the second-tier league. In the 2017–18 season with Jong PSV, he managed to score seven goals in 12 league games, which was a personal best for him.

Cody Gakpo first team

During the 2018–19 season, Gakpo was able to continue to build upon his previous efforts. First team coach, Mark van Bommel, was also aware of this development. During the first part of the season, he was called up to the first team’s matchday roster on a number of different occasions. He would, however, initially serve just as a stand-in for the injured player. Instead, he made his professional debut in a 4–0 away triumph over Excelsior Maassluis in the KNVB Cup on September 26th, in which he also scored a goal for the visitors. At home against the Go Ahead Eagles on December 3, 2018, he scored his first hat-trick of his professional career, helping the team to a 5–1 victory. After scoring a goal and providing an assist in a 5–2 victory against Almere City at home on December 21, he made his Eredivisie debut the following day, only one day after that. In the final stages of the 3–1 victory over AZ at home, he came on as a substitute for Steven Bergwijn. By the conclusion of the season, he had scored nine goals in ten league games for Jong PSV and had been promoted to the main squad as a regular player. Against Fortuna Sittard at home on February 3, 2019, he scored his first league goal in his second outing and also assisted on another in a 5–0 triumph for the Red Devils. To finish the season, he had made 14 league games but had failed to score a single goal in that time.

In the 2019–20 season, he made his debut in the Eredivisie, scoring seven goals and providing an equal number of assists in 25 league appearances.

In PSV’s 3–1 victory against Groningen on September 13, 2020, the opening matchday of the 2020–21 Eredivisie season, Gakpo scored his first two goals for the club, helping them achieve their first Eredivisie title. He added another brace on September 24 in a 5–1 victory against N Mura in a UEFA Europa League qualifying match, ensuring that PSV qualified for the play-off round. On 1 October, he proved pivotal once again, this time by scoring PSV’s second goal in a 2–0 victory over Rosenborg in the Netherlands. With 29 games and 11 goals, he concluded the season as the team’s leading scorer.

A career on the international stage

As a result, he was called up to the Netherlands team for UEFA Euro 2020, and he made his international debut in the third match of the group stage against North Macedonia, coming in as a replacement for Frenkie de Jong in the 79th minute. As a result, he became the first player from the Netherlands to make his international debut in the European Championship since Martien Vreijsen did so in the 1980 edition.

Cody Gakpo style of play

In addition to playing on the left flank, Gakpo often cuts inside on his right foot to take up a more central attacking position, where he combines his speed and dribbling talents to wreak havoc on opposing defenders until he is given the opportunity to try a shot on goal.

• 1 Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
• Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, nine appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
• 5 Appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield
• 13 Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 8 October 2021

As of match played 4 September 2021. Netherlands score listed first, score column indicates score after each Gakpo goal.

International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	4 September 2021	Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands	3	Montenegro	4–0	4–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification