Hakpo dedicated a goal to his dead son in a dramatic match at the 2026 World Cup

Football often gives moments of great joy, but sometimes real human dramas unfold on the field. In the match of the 1/16 finals of the World Cup against Morocco, the 27-year-old striker of Liverpool and the Netherlands national team Cody Gakpo scored a goal that became the most emotional and painful in his career. It seemed that the football player was crying, dedicating this scored ball to his unborn son, whom he had the day before. On Saturday, the football player's partner, model Noa van der Bij, shared the terrible news on social networks. The couple was expecting their second child, who was due in October. Noah posted a heartwarming photo of her and Cody holding hands over a baby blanket and a knitted beanie. "It is with broken hearts that we share the terrible news that our baby boy died during pregnancy," she wrote. "Thank you for your love and support. Elijah Raphael Hakpo. Forever loved. Forever our son." Despite such a terrible family loss, Cody made the courageous decision to stay in the national team location to help the team to the playoffs. After opening the scoring in a crucial match, Gakpo fell to his knees, unable to hold back tears. His teammates immediately ran up to him to share the moment and support him. Netherlands captain and Cody's Liverpool team-mate Virgil van Dijk gave the striker a big, fatherly hug as the team returned to their half of the pitch. Unfortunately, this emotional goal was not a victory for the Dutch. Issa Diop equalized in stoppage time, sending the game into overtime (1:1). Cody Gakpo, who started all of his team's matches in this tournament and scored three goals in total, gave his all and was substituted in the 113th minute. The fate of the ticket to the quarterfinals was decided in a series of post-match penalties, where the attacker could no longer help the team. In the end, winning 3:2 and ending the performance of the Netherlands at the World Cup.