Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo each netted a pair of goals in the Netherlands’ dominant performance against Sweden on June 20 to remain undefeated in group play.
Substitute Crysencio Summerville finished the Swedes off in the final minutes after collecting a through ball near the halfway line, shifting his body right with a few subtle touches and slotting the ball from distance into the lower left corner past goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt for the 5–1 victory.
Sweden attempted to slow their speedy opponent down by placing five players in the midfield, but the Dutch “Oranje” easily cut through them with short, quick diagonal passes, consistently possessing the ball around their opponents’ goal area and pinpointing low crosses to their forwards at close range.
Brobbey’s first goal, just five minutes in, was a finish from Gakpo’s low cross to the left side. His second goal, 12 minutes later, was a similar play on the right side of the field and was the Netherlands’ 100th goal in its World Cup history. The striker easily outmuscled multiple Swedish defenders in the final third of the pitch.
Gakpo’s goals, both early in the second half, were also similar to each other. The winger easily beat his defenders with speed after controlling the ball inside the six-yard box and slotting it past Nordfeldt.
Sweden’s long-ball tactics in the first 20 minutes were ineffective, but the team found its shape after the first hydration break and consistently connected with attacking players Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres in the Dutch end. Gyokeres took two shots late in the first half. His first one curled to the lower right corner, where Dutch keeper Bart Verbruggen made a diving save. The second shot sailed just over the top of the goal.
Gustaf Lagerbielke headed the ball into the net off a Swedish free kick just outside of the Dutch penalty box in the 44th minute, but he was ruled offside. Sweden was awarded another free kick minutes later in stoppage time. Benjamin Nygren curved a low shot around the Dutch wall, but Verbruggen made the save.
Sweden’s only goal came in the 59th minute. Substitute Anthony Elanga timed his run to collect a through ball from Isak near the halfway line and remain onside. He sprinted past the Dutch defenders and fired a left-footed shot past Verbruggen.
“This match was all about details,” Elanga said through a FIFA interpreter before the post-game press conference. “They won this match because they got the details more correct than us.”
Sweden Coach Graham Potter said his team got off to a weak start and never quite found its form despite improvements after the hydration break.
“We didn’t quite have the belief in what we wanted to do,” he said at the post-game press conference broadcast on the FIFA media website. “They were clean with everything they did, so it made it difficult for us.”
Netherlands Coach Ronald Koeman applauded his squad for covering both ends of the pitch so quickly.
“Within no time, four to five people are in front of the goal, and it’s a good goal,” he said during the post-game press conference.
The Netherlands tied Japan 2–2 in their first Group F match, while Sweden beat Tunisia 5–1, prompting the firing of coach Sabri Lamouchi.
Despite the lopsided result, Sweden and the Netherlands maintain a strong rivalry dating back more than a century. They last played in 2017, when the Netherlands won 2–0. The two teams tied 0–0 during group play in the 1974 World Cup.
Sweden has appeared in 13 World Cups and was the runner-up in 1958. The Dutch have appeared in 12 World Cups, reaching the finals in 1974, 1978, and 2010, but never winning it.
