Brobbey and Gakpo at the double as Netherlands crush Sweden

Group F

Netherlands 5-1 Sweden

Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo scored two goals apiece as the Netherlands cruised past Sweden 5-1 to all but mathematically guarantee a place in the last 32 of the World Cup.

Brobbey was a surprise inclusion in their line-up at the expense of Crysencio Summerville who impressed and scored in the 2-2 draw with Japan, but the Sunderland forward took little time in repaying the faith of manager Ronald Koeman.

In the fifth minute the Netherlands went from one end of the pitch in just seven touches – Brobbey took down a long ball from goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, played it to Gakpo on the left wing, and then charged into the penalty area to convert the winger’s low cross.

Brobbey netted his second 12 minutes later when he stabbed home from Denzel Dumfries’ low cross after getting goalside of Sweden defender Isak Hien.

Sweden thought they had halved the deficit in first-half stoppage time when Gustaf Lagerbielke nodded into an empty net after beating Verbruggen to a free-kick, but the offside flag went up.

Sweden’s mini-fightback was quashed less than two minutes into the second half when Gakpo tapped in at the back post from another dangerous Dumfries delivery across the face of goal.

Gakpo scored his second in the 54th minute when Summerville – brought on at half-time – drove forward and set the Liverpool man up to drill a low shot past Kristoffer Nordfeldt in the Sweden goal.

That strike took the total number of goals scored at this World Cup to 100 in 33 games, the fastest a century has been reached since the 1958 edition (32 or 33 games as both were played simultaneously).

Graham Potter’s Sweden pulled a goal back five minutes later when substitute Anthony Elanga ran on to a through ball and lifted his shot past Verbruggen.

Summerville capped an impressive second-half cameo with a late run and strike into the bottom corner.

The Netherlands go top of Group F with four points, while Sweden will likely need a result against Japan in their final group game to secure progress to the knockout stage.

After drawing 2-2 with Japan, Koeman was criticised in the Dutch media both for his side’s slow attacking build-up and his ineffective defensive substitutions when leading.

From the first whistle in Houston it was clear he and his players wanted to send a message of intent, as orange shirts ran at bewildered Sweden defenders in wave after wave of breathless attack.

Koeman clearly wanted his side to be more direct – Brobbey gave them a central focal point they lacked against Japan as he helped both start and finish moves.

Sweden’s back three were constantly dragged out of position by Brobbey’s hold-up play and the movement of Malen just off him, allowing Dutch runners to exploit space down the flanks.

To their credit, Sweden improved upon adopting a back four after the first-half hydration break and finished the half the stronger side, but could not convert a flurry of half-chances.

Koeman responded to his critics once again at half-time with an inspired substitution.

Summerville played with the energy and desire of an attacker hoping to reclaim his place in the starting line-up – his clever pass set up Dumfries to assist the third goal, before he turned provider for Gakpo’s second.

He can take huge credit for stopping the Sweden comeback before it gained steam, though a blow to the head he suffered late on could leave Koeman sweating.

For the second time this tournament the Netherlands XI did not feature a single Eredivisie player, while all four goalscorers in this match played in the Premier League last season.

Bar a late first-half push, Sweden’s Premier League strikeforce of Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres had quiet evenings.

Both were starved of service, but showed promising signs of link-up play. If their defensive and midfield colleagues do not up their game then Liverpool and Arsenal respectively can expect them to report for pre-season training bang on time.

That said, Hungary are the only side in World Cup history to win their opening game by four goals or more and fail to progress from the group stage after they beat El Salvador 10-1 in 1982.

As three-time runners-up, the Dutch are known as World Cup bridesmaids. After being written off by many, Koeman is determined to take his nation all the way.

The Netherlands’ final Group F assignment is against Tunisia in Kansas City on Friday, 26 June (00:00 BST). Sweden will face Japan at the same time at Dallas Stadium, Arlington, Texas.