Double Dutch: Braces from Brobbey and Gakpo help sink Sweden

HOUSTON — Under intense pressure after its opening-game draw with Japan, the Netherlands delivered a dominant performance against Sweden in the World Cup on Saturday to move atop the Group F standings.

Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo scored two goals apiece to power the Dutch to the 5-1 win.

Brobbey's goals came in the first half, setting the Netherlands up for a big win after playing to a 2-2 draw the previous Sunday.

"It could be that the way we played builds confidence," Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman said."Now we've got a slightly better peace of mind with the four points. You can build on what happened now, and that's really good."

Gakpo, who also had an assist, extended the lead to 3-0 just after halftime, scoring in the 47th minute off a cross from Denzel Dumfries. He matched Brobbey when he scored on a right-footed shot from the left side of the box in the 54th minute.

"Today, there was more variation in attacking play, more players in different positions, movement and all those things," Gakpo said. "So it was more difficult for the defenders to really mark us, and we became free in the box. I think that was the little thing maybe we missed in the last game."

Sweden couldn't build on its strong performance in a 5-1 walloping of Tunisia in its first match. The loss to the Dutch was its biggest World Cup defeat since losing 7-1 to Brazil in 1950.

Sweden coach Graham Potter said the defeat was less about what his team did and more about just how good the Netherlands played Saturday. "They're a top team, and they were better than us today. We have to congratulate them, but I think we'll learn a lot from the game."

The Dutch game plan to play out wide to open up Sweden and cross to Brobbey worked perfectly early on. He put the Netherlands on top in the fifth minute, one-timing a Gakpo cross with his right foot.

His second goal came when he took a cross from Dumfries while sliding and just got his right foot on the ball, scoring inside the far post in the 17th minute.

Koeman credited Brobbey's success to getting in better shape after he had struggled in the past with the rigors of playing a full game.

"He's fitter, he's sharper and he's developing really well," he said.

Anthony Elanga's left-footed goal cut the lead to 4-1 in the 59th minute and allowed Sweden to avoid the shutout loss.

Sweden had plenty of chances to score before that, but the Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen was brilliant in the first half with four saves.

Sweden appeared to have cut the lead to 2-1 on a header by Gustaf Lagerbielke in the 44th minute, but he was ruled offside. Lagerbielke is a baron from a noble family in Sweden. His father and grandfather are counts.

But he wasn't the only royalty in the stadium Saturday, as the Netherlands had two very special guests cheering them on with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima watching from a luxury suite. "The King was very happy," Koeman said.

Crysencio Summerville, who assisted Gakpo's second goal, tacked on one of his own for the Netherlands in the 89th minute and celebrated with NBA star Steph Curry's "night night" gesture.

Summerville took a boot to the head late in the match and had received stitches, but Koeman said he should be ready for the next match.

Samurai blues for Tunisia

Meanwhile, Japan marked the 1,000th game in the history of the World Cup with a 4-0 thrashing of Tunisia in Saturday's final fixture.

Ayase Ueda scored twice while Daichi Kamada and Junya Ito were also on target, as the Asian giant joined the Netherlands on four points at the top of Group F.

Tunisia can no longer hope for a place in the knockout stages.

The Samurai Blue were always in control against Tunisia at the Monterrey Stadium in Mexico and Tunisia never looked like threatening a technically superior Japanese side that settled quickly into its trademark, smooth passing game.

Kamada opened the scoring after just four minutes following some deft interplay. Minutes later, Tunisia keeper Aymen Dahmen just managed to claw away the ball, which was barely centimeters from crossing his goal line. Japan eventually got its second in the 31st minute, with striker Ueda thundering in a low shot from the edge of the area.

The rout continued in the second half, with Ito latching onto a brilliant through ball to finish in the 69th, before Ueda nodded in a looping header in the 83rd.

Group F winds up on Thursday, with Japan playing Sweden at Dallas Stadium and the Netherlands facing Tunisia in Kansas City.

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