Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo each scored twice as the Netherlands produced a dominant display to thrash Sweden 5-1 in their second group match at the FIFA World Cup.
After drawing their opening game against Japan, Dutch coach Ronald Koeman made one change to his lineup, handing Brobbey a starting berth in place of Crysencio Summerville.
The decision paid off almost immediately as Brobbey opened the scoring with a simple finish after meeting a pinpoint delivery from Gakpo. The striker soon grabbed his second of the evening, sliding home from close range after being picked out by Denzel Dumfries.
The Dutch controlled much of the opening half, but Sweden looked more threatening after the cooling break. Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen came to his side’s rescue with a series of saves, while Sweden also had a goal ruled out for offside after Isak Hien headed into the net.
The Netherlands nearly extended their lead before halftime, but Donyell Malen’s low cross failed to find Brobbey and Gakpo, who were waiting inside the six-yard box.
Koeman introduced Summerville at the start of the second half, and the substitute made an instant impact. He combined with Dumfries to set up Gakpo for the third goal before linking up with the Liverpool forward again moments later as Gakpo curled home brilliantly to make it 4-0.
Sweden managed to reduce the deficit before the hour mark when Anthony Elanga raced through on goal and chipped Verbruggen.
However, any hopes of a comeback were quickly extinguished as Summerville capped off an impressive cameo with a well-taken goal late in the game to seal a convincing 5-1 victory.
The result sends the Netherlands to the top of their group ahead of their final group-stage clash against Tunisia next Friday.
