Netherlands cruised to a dominant 5-1 win over Sweden at the FIFA World Cup, riding on an early brace by Brian Brobbey, followed by two goals for Cody Gakpo and a late goal from Crysencio Summerville.
After their disappointing 2-2 draw with Japan, where they conceded a late equaliser, this convincing win over Sweden has strengthened their reputation as one of the teams capable of going deep into the tournament.
Brobbey, selected ahead of the Netherlands’ all-time leading scorer Memphis Depay, rewarded his coach’s faith by scoring twice in the opening 17 minutes. Gakpo then added two more goals shortly after half-time to put the result beyond doubt.
Brobbey opened the scoring after cleverly flicking the ball to Tijjani Reijnders, who found Gakpo making a run down the left wing. Gakpo then set up Brobbey for a simple finish.
The striker doubled his tally soon after, stretching out a leg to guide Denzel Dumfries’ perfectly delivered cross past Sweden goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt.
Coach Koeman had faced criticism for his substitutions against Japan, but this time his changes worked perfectly. Substitute Crysencio Summerville made an immediate impact in the second half, scoring once and playing a key role in two other goals.
Sweden came into the match full of confidence after their 5-1 win over Tunisia, but they were sloppy in possession and repeatedly gave the ball away. They struggled to deal with the pace and movement of the Dutch attack.
Graham Potter’s side improved after the first cooling break and showed more urgency, but they were no match to a clinical Netherlands team.
Viktor Gyokeres was Sweden’s main threat early on, forcing Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen into action with a free-kick and a curling shot.
Yasin Ayari then had a golden opportunity to bring Sweden back into the match, but he could not control the ball properly when he found himself with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Substitute Anthony Elanga reduced the deficit in the 59th minute, but his goal proved to be nothing more than a consolation. Any hopes of a comeback were ended when Summerville capped off the Dutch performance by weaving his way to the edge of the box and scoring neatly in the final minute.
The Netherlands now lead Group F with four points from two matches, while Sweden remain on three points.
