Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo both scored twice as a scintillating Netherlands display saw them beat Sweden 5-1 for their first win at the 2026 World Cup.
2026 World Cup
5-1
Match Report
Brobbey replaced Crysencio Summerville in the only change to the Oranje side that drew 2-2 with Japan in their opening match, and by scoring two goals in the opening 17 minutes in Houston, he registered the fourth-fastest brace in World Cup history.
Sweden grew into the game and peppered Bart Verbruggen's goal at the end of the first half, but the outstanding Gakpo scored twice in the space of seven minutes after the interval.
Anthony Elanga got one back for Sweden just before the hour mark, but fellow substitute Summerville added a late fifth for Ronald Koeman's team, who are now virtually assured of a place in the knockout stages.
The Netherlands scored a tremendous fifth-minute opener, with Brobbey showing great hold-up play to find Tijjani Reijnders, who in turn offloaded to Gakpo. The Liverpool man centred from the left flank, and Brobbey capped the move with a poacher's finish.
Viktor Gyokeres tested Verbruggen as Sweden sought an immediate response, but Brobbey had his brace soon afterwards, throwing himself at Denzel Dumfries' right-wing delivery to prod it into the bottom-left corner.
2 - Players with a brace within 17 minutes at the FIFA World Cup over the last 40 years:
— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) June 20, 2026
Ronaldo against Costa Rica in 2002
Lukas Podolski against Sweden in 2006
Brian Brobbey against Sweden in 2026
Brobbeast. pic.twitter.com/5SFlrhxZb2
Sweden improved after the first-half hydration break, and though the Netherlands went close to a third goal when Donyell Malen's cross-shot drifted wide, they were hugely unfortunate not to pull one back before half-time.
Gyokeres forced Verbruggen into two more saves, while Yasin Ayari drew another with a low drive and Gustaf Lagerbielke saw a brave header from Benjamin Nygren's free-kick disallowed for offside.
And Sweden were punished when Gakpo got his quickfire double after the restart, tapping another low Dumfries delivery home, then beating Kristoffer Nordfeldt with a clever reverse finish inside the near post.
Graham Potter sent on Elanga in response to going 4-0 down, and he was on the scoresheet within four minutes, lifting over Verbruggen after latching onto Alexander Isak's pass.
But a comeback was never on the cards, and Summerville heaped further misery on Sweden with a wonderful strike into the bottom-left corner in the 89th minute.
Bright Oranje display allays Group F fears
Both of the Netherlands' previous tournament meetings with Sweden, at the 1974 World Cup and Euro 2004, finished goalless. Both saw drama, though, as the former marked the origin of the famous 'Cruyff turn' and the latter saw the Oranje triumph on penalties.
Plenty of intrigue was expected here, with the Netherlands having little margin for error if they wished to maintain their hopes of topping the group.
But few would have predicted Brobbey to steal the headlines. He only scored once in his first 13 senior caps, but he immediately offered Koeman's team a target in the area and put away two excellent deliveries from the wide areas.
Brobbey's second goal was timed at 16:12, with only Lukas Podolski (Germany versus Sweden in 2006, 11:35), Ronaldo Nazario (Brazil versus Costa Rica in 2002, 12:16) and Gary Lineker (England versus Poland in 1986, 13:46) scoring faster World Cup braces.
Not to be outdone, Gakpo matched Brobbey's tally early in the second half, equalling Robin van Persie as the Netherlands player with the most World Cup group-stage goals in the process (five). It is the second instance of two Netherlands players scoring twice in the same World Cup game, after Van Persie and Arjen Robben did so in a memorable 5-1 rout of Spain in 2014.
Sweden may feel the final scoreline flattered the Netherlands, having had more shots than their opponents (16 to 10), but they conceded the higher-quality chances, losing the expected goals (xG) battle by 0.99 to 2.47.
Line-ups
Netherlands XI: Van Dijk, Dumfries, De Jong, Gakpo, Malen, Reijnders, Gravenberch, Brian Brobbey, Jan Paul van Hecke, Bart Verbruggen, Van de Ven
Subs: De Roon, Depay, Ake, Mark Flekken, Weghorst, Koopmeiners, Kluivert, Guus Til, Lang, Lutsharel Geertruida, Crysencio Summerville, Mats Wieffer, Robin Roefs, Jorrel Hato
Sweden XI: K. Nordfeldt, Lindelof, Jesper Karlström, Viktor Gyökeres, Isak, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Isak Hien, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Benjamin Nygren, Alexander Bernhardsson, Yasin Ayari
Subs: Ken Sema, Carl Starfelt, Eric Smith, Viktor Johansson, Gustaf Nilsson, Svanberg, Hjalmar Ekdal, Herman Johansson, Anthony Elanga, Jacob Widell Zetterström, Elliot Stroud, Besfort Zeneli, Daniel Svensson, Taha Ali, Bergvall