Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo both scored braces as the Netherlands produced a commanding performance to dismantle Sweden in their Group F clash.
The Oranje took control from the opening minutes and never looked back, dictating the tempo and leaving Sweden chasing shadows for large portions of the contest.
The breakthrough came as early as the fifth minute when Brian Brobbey opened the scoring, setting the tone for what would become a one-sided affair.
Brobbey doubled the Netherlands’ advantage in the 17th minute, finishing clinically from a Denzel Dumfries delivery to make it 2-0. The young striker’s brace not only put his side firmly in command but also took his senior international tally to three goals.
Sweden briefly threatened late in the first half and thought they had pulled one back through Lagerbielke in the 45th minute, only for VAR to correctly rule the effort offside.
Despite carving out a couple of dangerous moments in added time, Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen remained untroubled as the Netherlands went into the break with a commanding lead.
The second half brought more of the same. Just two minutes after the restart, Dumfries once again provided the assist, this time picking out Cody Gakpo, who made no mistake to extend the lead to 3-0.
Gakpo added his second shortly afterwards, with substitute Crysencio Summerville involved in the build-up, to make it 4-0 and move his own international record to 21 goals in 50 appearances for the Netherlands.
Sweden managed a consolation goal in the 59th minute when Anthony Elanga, only just introduced as a substitute, finished smartly from an Alexander Isak assist. However, any hopes of a comeback were swiftly extinguished.
Summerville capped an impressive cameo with a stunning long-range strike in the 89th minute, sealing a resounding 5-1 victory and underlining the Netherlands’ attacking depth.
The result leaves the Dutch in a strong position in Group F. They will now turn their focus to their final group-stage fixture against Tunisia, where a positive result could secure qualification to the knockout stages.
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