The Netherlands looked like a team that forgot how to close out games after settling for a 2-2 draw with Japan in their World Cup opener. Six days later, they flipped the script entirely.
Saturday afternoon against Sweden, the Dutch didn’t just win. They flattened them. Brian Brobbey scored twice inside the first 17 minutes, but it was Cody Gakpo who turned the match into a full-blown statement. The Liverpool attacker came out for the second half with something to prove and scored in the 47th minute. Seven minutes after that, he added another — a slick, change-of-direction move that left the Swedish defense grasping at air.
A Goalscorer’s Confidence Takes Over
Broadcaster Darren Fletcher didn’t hold back. “Brilliant from Gakpo,” he said on the call. “The Netherlands are running riot.” That second goal made it 4-0, and the game was effectively over. Sweden pulled one back later, but it barely mattered. Crysencio Summerville tacked on a fifth for the Dutch, and the final score read 5-1.
That’s how you bounce back from a disappointing draw — by making sure nobody remembers it.
The timing matters here. The Netherlands entered this tournament as a serious contender, but the Japan game raised real questions about their composure in big moments. They gave up a late equalizer and looked shaky in transition. Against Sweden, they answered those questions with force. Brobbey’s early goals settled things down. Gakpo’s second-half explosion ended any doubt.
What This Means Going Forward
The Group D table now shows the Dutch on four points, level with Sweden but ahead on goal differential. Japan’s draw with the Netherlands looks a lot less damaging now that the Dutch have put up five. Next up for the Netherlands is a match against a physical Senegal side, which will test whether this defense can hold up against a team that won’t fold after the first goal. But for now, the Netherlands can breathe. One dominant performance changed the entire feel of their group stage.
Gakpo’s showing also reminds everyone why he’s so dangerous in this system. He drifts. He cuts inside. He makes defenders guess wrong. On the first goal after halftime, he found a pocket of space and finished cleanly. On the second, he shifted direction sharply, losing his marker and firing home. That’s the kind of movement that makes a deep run possible in knockout rounds.
For Sweden, the loss stings. They came in with legitimate hopes of advancing, and now they’re chasing the Netherlands and Japan in the standings. The gap isn’t huge — one result can flip things again — but they’ll need to tighten up defensively. You can’t give a team like the Dutch that much space and survive.
Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman said after the match that the performance was closer to what he expects. He didn’t overhype it. He just noted that the team executed the plan. That’s probably the most worrying thing for the rest of the group: the win looked routine.
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