Brobbey and Gakpo both score twice as Netherlands hammer Sweden 5-1

The Netherlands found the ruthless streak that had gone missing in their opener, brushing Sweden aside 5-1 in Houston on June 20 to climb to the top of Group F. Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo scored twice each, and Ronald Koeman’s side had the points secured long before Crysencio Summerville rounded off the night in front of a near-capacity crowd at NRG Stadium.

It was exactly the response Koeman wanted after a flat 2-2 draw with Japan on the opening day. Handed his first start of the tournament, Brobbey needed only five minutes to settle any nerves, finishing from close range, and he struck again in the 17th to double the lead.

Gakpo turns control into a rout

Sweden needed a strong start to the second half and got the opposite. Gakpo turned in a Denzel Dumfries cross two minutes after the restart, then curled in a second from the edge of the box in the 54th minute to put the game out of reach. His double took the Liverpool forward to five World Cup group-stage goals for the Netherlands, drawing him level with Robin van Persie at the top of that list. Anthony Elanga gave the scoreline a brief flicker of respectability with a consolation in the 59th, but the Dutch were never troubled. Summerville added the fifth in the 89th minute.

The win was a measure of how quickly the Netherlands settled. Koeman had been criticised for the way his side let a lead slip against Japan, and the answer here was an attack that took almost every chance it created. Gakpo, in particular, now has a habit of scoring at World Cups that few Dutch forwards can match.

Where it leaves Group F

The result lifts the Netherlands to four points from two games, with Sweden stuck on three after a heavy night. There is a neat symmetry to it for Graham Potter’s side, who had opened the group with a 5-1 thrashing of Tunisia of their own and now find themselves on the receiving end of the same scoreline. Japan and Tunisia, who meet next, still have a second match in hand, but the Dutch are now well placed to reach the knockout rounds.

For Sweden, the recovery job is straightforward to describe and harder to do. A win over Japan in their final group game would still give them a strong chance of going through, but Potter will want a sharper showing from a team that looked second best for long stretches once Brobbey got going.

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