Koeman’s side secures its first win of the 2026 World Cup in emphatic fashion, with Dumfries delivering two assists and substitute Summerville making an immediate impact.
The Netherlands finally announced themselves at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with an emphatic 5-1 victory over Sweden, moving to the top of Group F and taking a major step toward qualification for the knockout stage.
After being held to a dramatic 2-2 draw by Japan in their opener, Ronald Koeman’s men responded with authority, powered by braces from Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo, while Denzel Dumfries orchestrated the attack with two assists.
For Sweden, coming off a high-scoring victory against Tunisia, it was a sobering evening. Viktor Gyökeres battled throughout and Anthony Elanga impressed off the bench, but the Scandinavian defense simply had no answer for the Dutch firepower.
Koeman surprised many by leaving Crysencio Summerville on the bench and shifting Donyell Malen to the right wing, with Brobbey leading the line. The decision paid immediate dividends.
The Ajax striker opened the scoring after just five minutes before doubling the advantage in the 17th minute, finishing off a precise delivery from Dumfries.
Sweden looked shell-shocked and nearly found themselves out of the contest before halftime. Gyökeres attempted to inspire a response and Lagerbielke even put the ball into the net, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside.
Koeman made another key adjustment at halftime, replacing the ineffective Malen with Summerville. The substitution transformed the attack.
Just two minutes into the second half, Summerville initiated the move that allowed Gakpo to make it 3-0. Seven minutes later, the Liverpool winger completed his own brace to put the result beyond doubt.
Sweden refused to surrender completely. Elanga, introduced midway through the second half, immediately injected pace and quality into Graham Potter’s side and reduced the deficit in the 59th minute.
Any hopes of a comeback were extinguished late on when Summerville capped a superb cameo appearance by scoring the fifth goal in the 89th minute.
With four points from two matches, the Netherlands now sit alone atop Group F and are firmly in control of their destiny heading into the final group-stage fixture.
Match Report: Netherlands 5-1 Sweden
Scorers:
5′ Brobbey (NED)
17′ Brobbey (NED)
47′ Gakpo (NED)
54′ Gakpo (NED)
59′ Elanga (SWE)
89′ Summerville (NED)
Netherlands (4-3-3)
Verbruggen 7; Dumfries 7.5, Van Hecke 6, Van Dijk 6.5, Van de Ven 6.5; Gravenberch 7, Reijnders 6.5 (59′ Til 6), De Jong 6.5 (59′ Koopmeiners 6); Malen 5.5 (46′ Summerville 7.5), Brobbey 8 (72′ Depay 6), Gakpo 8 (91′ Noa Lang sv).
Head Coach: Ronald Koeman
Sweden (3-5-2)
Nordfeldt 5.5; Lagerbielke 5.5, Hien 5, Lindelöf 5.5; Bernhardsson 5.5 (55′ Elanga 7), Nygren 5.5 (56′ Bergvall 6), Karlström 5.5 (56′ Zeneli 6), Ayari 6.5 (79′ Ali sv), Gudmundsson 5.5 (93′ Stroud sv); Gyökeres 6.5, Isak 5.5.
Head Coach: Graham Potter
Referee: Michael Oliver (England)
Yellow Cards: Gudmundsson, Ayari, Bergvall
