Virgil van Dijk, a Liverpool colleague and club captain, led his country out for the first game in Group D in Hamburg, playing the entire encounter in the heart of defence.
However, despite controlling early possession, Poland scored against the run of play in minute 16 with Adam Buksa’s header following Piotr Zielinski’s corner kick.
The Netherlands, on the other hand, immediately regained parity just before the half-hour mark when Gakpo seized the ball in his stride and drove on to score from outside the box.
‘His shot deflected off the retreating defence, catching Polish custodian Wojciech Szczesny off guard and unable to stop it.
Following the half-time break, the Netherlands pushed on in search of a winner, coming close through Denzel Dumfries and Xavi Simons.
Poland, on the other hand, surged into the game and posed their own threat in the opposing box, forcing custodian Bart Verbruggen into action on several occasions.
Gakpo left nine minutes later with the game appearing destined for a draw, but it was replacement Wout Weghorst who supplied the critical intervention in the 83rd minute, finding space in the area to shoot low into the bottom corner and seal the victory for his country.
Gakpo told UEFA after the encounter: “I think it was a challenging battle; they are a tough opponent. They are well-organized, and they obviously scored first, so things were a little more difficult.
“I believe we produced several nice opportunities and chances, but we need to be more clinical. Overall, I think we did quite well against them.
“It was a tough match but in the end we won so that’s good.”
He continued, “We are a team that never gives up. We have good alternatives, as you witnessed today. I believe we replaced the entire frontline, and they came in and played admirably, which is a strength for us as well.
Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch also appeared in the game as an unused substitute for Ronald Koeman’s side.
