Netherlands' Cody Gakpo overwhelmed with emotion after scoring in wake of personal tragedy at World Cup

The Netherlands' Cody Gakpo boosted his country in front of Morocco late in their World Cup Round of 32 match on Monday, then collapsed under the weight of so many emotions. Liverpool star Gakpo, 27, made the most of a desperation lay-off from a fouled Crysencio Summerville and blasted a 72nd-minute shot past splayed Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou to put the Dutch on top of their CAF foes. MORE — Paraguay stun Germany in wild batch of penalties And while scoring a potentially decisive World Cup goal brings out emotions in almost any player, it was especially heavy for Gakpo given the personal tragedy announced this week. Gakpo's partner Noa van der Bij announced earlier this week that they lost a baby son during her pregnancy. "He deals with things with his family in his own way and it’s very powerful, it’s beautiful, and we’ve left it there," said Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman before the game. "We’ve been his support, he can count on us, on the other players and the players handled it in their way.” Here's the goal, and the moments that followed it. Netherlands’ Cody Gakpo overwhelmed with emotion after scoring in wake of personal tragedy at World Cup (video) ¡UN GOL MUY ESPECIAL! Ante una situación difícil, Cody Gakpo sacó lo mejor de él en cancha y pone en ventaja a Países Bajos. pic.twitter.com/TKTaxOJEow — Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) June 30, 2026