The Netherlands earned a 3-2 win over Lithuania and the performance of Cody Gakpo earned plenty of praise.

Arne Slot will be keeping a close eye on all of his Liverpool players during the international break.

But the Reds head coach undoubtedly will be paying closer attention to his Dutch trio. Like everyone from the Netherlands, Slot will be desperate for his country to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

The Anfield supremo watches plenty of football in his spare time if he had the choice of games on Sunday then he would only be watching Oranje’s clash against Lithuania. Not only was it a chance to be in the same position as his compatriots and cheer on as a fan but he had the added bonus of running the rule over three of his Liverpool players.

Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch all featured in Holland’s 1-1 draw against Poland last week. They travelled to Lithuania last night, with head coach Ronald Koeman making changes to his team. Gravenberch was an unused substitute although Van Dijk and Gakpo started.

What the Dutch media said on Cody Gakpo

The Netherlands earned a 3-2 victory and the media from the country were impressed by Gakpo’s performance. The 26-year-old, who recently signed a new contract with Liverpool, assisted the opening goal scored by Memphis Depay who became Oranje’s all-time top scorer with 51.

Rotterdam-based newspaper Algemeen Dagblad handed Gakpo a 7/10 player rating and claimed that he was the Netherlands’ man of the match. It said: "The beauty of Gakpo, who was once again the best player, is that unlike other wingers who are always in the Netherlands, he has the solution when he's double-marked. He'll go past the first, cut back to cut inside for the second, and then fire a shot at goal. Like with that ball that hit the crossbar."

VoetbalPrimeur handed Gakpo the same mark and commented: ”Gakpo has become a force to be reckoned with at Liverpool. His consistency is particularly striking. The left winger is always a threat, and he was again on Sunday evening. Gakpo provided the beautiful assist for the 0-1 and came close to scoring himself after the break when he blasted the ball onto the crossbar.

De Limburger dished out Gakpo a 7 and reported: ‘Once again, the Netherlands' most dangerous attacker. His "outside" moves are unstoppable’.

National newspaper De Telegraaf were slightly harsher as they handed Gakpo a 6.5 but were still impressed by his impact. It said: “Gakpo started the international match as he had finished against Poland: threatening. His shot was easily saved. Moments later, the Liverpool left winger was the one to help Depay make it 0-1. However, Gakpo was also the one who was knocked into the air by Girdvainis in Lithuania's 2-2, and so the Dutch team went to the dressing room with their heads bowed. After the break, the most danger came from Gakpo, who hit the crossbar with a long-range shot.”

Van Dijk’s average mark was around 6/10, with Lithuania coming from two goals behind to level and give the Netherlands a scare before Depay bagged his second of the game. Oranje are joint-top of Group G on 10 points with Poland but have played one game fewer.

The pair and Gravenberch will now jet back to Merseyside ahead of Liverpool’s clash against Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday. The triumvirate have started all three of the Reds’ games as they sit top of the table having collected nine points. Slot’s men earned a 1-0 win over Arsenal last time out.