Gakpo Bails Netherlands Out With Injury-Time Winner — After Ten Men Nearly Let It Slip

Gakpo Bails Netherlands Out With Injury-Time Winner — After Ten Men Nearly Let It Slip

Friendlies — Friendly International | Icahn Stadium

Netherlands 2-1 Uzbekistan. Simple enough on the scoreboard. Anything but simple in the final ten minutes.

Cody Gakpo had given Ronald Koeman's side a thoroughly comfortable-looking lead inside the first half, and for long stretches this looked like exactly the kind of controlled, low-stakes friendly that ends with three or four changes, a clean sheet, and not much to write home about. Then Guus Til got himself sent off in the 87th minute, Uzbekistan equalised through substitute Ilkhom Sergeev right at the death, and suddenly Icahn Stadium had a genuine match on its hands. Gakpo was the one who ended it — composure enough to score again in the 90th minute and spare Netherlands the embarrassment of dropping a two-goal lead to a team they'd dominated for most of the afternoon.

How It Unfolded

Gakpo opened the scoring on 32 minutes, and at that point Netherlands — with 65% possession and 15 shots across the full match — were operating at something close to cruise control. Donyell Malen was among the starters, Frenkie de Jong pulled strings in midfield, and the Uzbekistan defence looked stretched whenever Netherlands moved forward with any pace.

The second half brought the chaos. Danil Khamdamov replaced Oston Urunov for Uzbekistan at 54 minutes, Brian Brobbey came on for Malen at 65, and then the disciplinary dominoes started falling. Rivojiddin Ashurmatov was booked at 67 minutes. Mark Flekken replaced Bart Verbruggen in goal at 67 — an unusual goalkeeper substitution that suggests pre-planned rotation rather than injury. Til came on for De Jong at 72. Cobbie Summerville collected a yellow card at 75.

Then Til, barely 15 minutes into his appearance, was gone — red card, 87th minute. Two Uzbekistan substitutes, Sergeev and Jakhongir Iskanderov, came on at 77, and it was Sergeev who punished Netherlands at 90, prodding home the equaliser that looked, briefly, like it might be the story of the night. Gakpo had other ideas. Ninety minutes on the clock, ten men on the pitch, and he found the net again anyway.

The Decisive Moment

It was the kind of moment that tells you something real about a player's mentality. Sergeev's goal had shifted momentum completely — Uzbekistan had nothing to lose, Netherlands were rattled and a man down, and the draw was suddenly right there for the taking. Gakpo ignored all of that. His second goal to seal the 2-1 won't make the highlight reels at the World Cup the way a Wembley final would, but a striker who scores when the nerves are up and the numbers are against him is exactly the kind of player Koeman needs to know he has going into 2026.

Man of the Match: Cody Gakpo

Two goals, 58 minutes apart, both when Netherlands needed them most. The first was comfort; the second was rescue. Gakpo has become the player Netherlands build around when it matters, and this performance — even in a friendly, even at Icahn Stadium rather than the Feyenoord Kuip — reinforced exactly why. Getting sent to the line with the match level at ten men and still finding the winner? That's not luck, that's nerve.

What It Means

This was a friendly, so the three points don't travel anywhere. But for Netherlands, heading into a World Cup where they'll need a clinical edge, the Til red card will concern Koeman — reckless indiscipline from a substitute is the last thing a manager wants to see. Uzbekistan will take genuine encouragement from their late equaliser; this wasn't a side rolling over. They made they work for it right to the final whistle.

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they 2-1 they — Quick Answer Cody Gakpo scored twice — at 32 and 90 minutes — to give they a 2-1 win over they at Icahn Stadium. Ilkhom Sergeev had equalised for they in the 90th minute after Guus Til's red card left they with ten men.

metaTitle: they 2-1 they: Gakpo Wins It in Stoppage Time metaDescription: Cody Gakpo scored twice including a 90th-minute winner as they beat they 2-1 in a dramatic friendly after Guus Til's red card left them with ten men. articleSection: Friendlies — Friendly International