Netherlands 5-1 Sweden: Potter’s side thrashed as Gakpo and Brobbey shine | OneFootball

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Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo were absolutely merciless in front of goal in a 5-1 thrashing against Sweden as the Netherlands climbed to the top of Group F in style in their second World Cup group stage game.

Brobbey looked sharp from the whistle, being a livewire in the box and scoring a brace in the first half through perfect crosses from Gakpo and Dumfries, as the former grabbed two of his own inside seven second-half minutes.

Anthony Elanga was called upon straight away in the second half, managing a consolation goal after being put through on goal by Alexander Isak, but Sweden lacked the cutting edge overall as the Dutch eased towards the round of 32.

Summerville rounded off the game with a wonderful finish from outside the box who showed how effective he can be despite the fact he began the game on the bench, as Sweden suffered the same margin of defat they exacted on Tunisia last time out.

As it happened

Ronald Koeman made a bold decision to take out Crysencio Summerville amidst scoring a great goal against Japan for Sunderland striker Brian Bobbey, but it’s safe to say it paid off quickly.

It was classic centre-forward play from Brobbey after just five minutes, who used his strength to receive the ball on the halfway line from a long ball, laying it off to Tijani Reijnders, who then sends Cody Gakpo down the left flank to flash the ball across the face of the six-yard box for Brobbey to tap home.

An immediate wake-up call for Potter’s men being down so early, and they attempted to reply straight away from Victor Gyökeres down the right channel, but he was denied by Verbruggen.

The Netherlands were hungry for more as they were close to a second from a wonderful Dumfries cross which headed Gakpo’s way, if not for an intervention from wing-back Benhardson to force a corner.

Clearly the Swedes didn’t learn from the threat of Real Madrid’s new defender’s crossing because he was present down the right flank again to assist Brobbey for his second of the game 12 minutes after his first as he calmly slotted home from a similar position to the first to roll the ball past Kristoffer Nordfeldt.

After the hydration break, Sweden had to pick up the intensity, and they did as Isak found the Arsenal striker in space down the channel with a great whipped cross to Yasin Ayari, who scored two goals on his World Cup debut but this time awkwardly chests the ball in an attempt to control it out of play.

Alexander Isak began to adapt his game, playing deeper, which began to work for Sweden because the two strikers continuously linked up.

Liverpool forward floated into space and played Gyokeres through, but his shot was blocked by Van Hecke before trickling into the goalkeeper’s hand.

Again, a quick passing action leads to Isak finding Gyökeres, who attempted to curl one into the top corner, but the Brighton goalkeeper was there again to protect the Dutch clean sheet.

Even after knocking on the door, Sweden thought they got one back on a set-piece delivered by Nygren and headed by Gustaf Lagerbielke who peeled away from his marker, but the linesman had his flag up for a narrow offside.

Right before half-time, Gyökeres’ free kick and Ayari’s low-driven shot were parried out by the 23-year-old goalkeeper.

Despite the Scandanavians looking strong near the end of the first-half, their defence was exposed for the third time, substitute Summerville makes a classy dribble before playing flying full-back Denzel Dumfries down the right who gets that low cross perfect for Cody Gakpo to convert from close range.

No mercy from the Netherlands as Isak loses the ball in the middle of park, Summerville picked the ball up and impacted again, laying it off to Gakpo who works his way into the box and rattled the net, shooting near-post to get his brace.

Newcastle’s Elanga is substituted on and received a splitting pass from Isak, as the 24-year-old winger made a direct run through the heart of Netherlands defence and fired with his left foot to deny Verbruggen his clean sheet.

Summerville put the game to bed as he carries the ball towards Sweden’s box before hitting it sweetly from outside the box 89th minute to conclude a tenacious thrashing.

Analysis: Koeman’s faith repayed with Brobbey at the double as Summerville still deadly off the bench

After an impressive performance with a classy goal from West Ham’s Summerville against Japan, no one would’ve expected him to get dropped for this game.

However, the highly respected Dutch manager made the call to drop Summerville and instead go with Brobbey in the striker position, moving Donyell Malen to the wing.

Brobbey’s overall centre-forward play flourished today, as his hold up play and powerful running in-behind caused all sorts of problems for Sweden’s back-three.

Clinical in the 18-yard box, his two shots in the first half were rewarded with two goals through being at the right place at the right time.

Not only his goalscoring, but aerially he was dominant and physically he was able to bully his way through the Swedish defence to hold the ball up and get his teammates into play.

Summerville may have felt unhappy not being able to start, but substituted at half-time, he was a handful as he played a part in all three Dutch goals in the second half.

Playing Dumfries down the right who then assisted Gakpo, then assisting Gakpo for the fourth and topping it off with a lovely goal from outside the box was the perfect way to respond.

It’s been a difficult season for Summerville in club football as West Ham will be playing in the Championship next season, but at this World Cup he’s played with such poise and confidence in his final action.

Depending on how he plays, it’ll be interesting to observe whether there’ll be clubs interested in acquiring his talent, because he’s full of it.

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