It turns out Sweden do not have a monopoly on old fashioned centre-forward play. They were schooled in it here by Brian Brobbey, who was brought in by Ronald Koeman to give their attack a focal point and swiftly made his under-pressure manager resemble a genius. Brobbey scored twice in the opening 17 minutes to pave the way for a crushing win, proving impossible to handle with a cocktail of strength, touch and finishing.
The Netherlands were equally impressive as a collective, devastating Sweden down the flanks and effectively ending the contest with two Cody Gakpo finishes soon after the break. Anthony Elanga briefly raised the temperature but Crysencio Summerville’s excellent late goal added garnish and means Sweden must now be treated as an enigma.
While Viktor Gyökeres and Alexander Isak had made hay in the 5-1 win against Tunisia, neither could beat Bart Verbruggen here. A defeat of identical size piles pressure on Thursday’s meeting with Japan for Graham Potter, whose team could have scored more but allowed the Netherlands to carve them apart at will. Surely, in this most forgiving of formats, a team that began so emphatically cannot tumble out at the first hurdle.
Brobbey’s appetite for a wrestling match with the central component of Sweden’s back three, Isak Hien, was evident from the start. It quickly brought results and a resounding vindication of Koeman’s decision to start him. The Sunderland striker was simply too strong for Hien when receiving a chest-high pass in the fifth minute, cleverly bringing Tijjani Reijnders into play and allowing a switch left to Gakpo. While Gakpo’s angled centre was perfect, Brobbey deserves bundles of credit for not standing to admire his own work. He had bust a gut to meet the delivery, arriving first to convert from close in, and Sweden were dealt a sharp reality check.
Almost immediately Gyökeres sought to restore the feelgood factor, making Verbruggen save from an angle. But the Netherlands were simply too strong, fast and controlled in every department. Their supporters had engaged in the customary pre-match march to the stadium, delaying traffic from downtown with their two-mile parade from Rice University; Sweden were as swamped on the pitch as their own outnumbered representation in the stands.
Another grapple with Hein went Brobbey’s way but Donyell Malen, moved out wide to facilitate the target man’s presence, was crowded out. A devilish ball from Denzel Dumfries was diverted from the poised Gakpo by Alexander Bernhardsson and then Reijnders, profiting from Sweden’s inability to make anything stick, broke forward only to scuff wide.
The ball burst as Reijnders took aim. Soon Brobbey would firmly puncture Swedish hopes, again reacting quickest to snick in a wonderful, snaking right-sided ball from Dumfries. Sweden had been cripplingly passive, allowing the Netherlands to work possession into their final third with ease.
Koeman’s players certainly had little appetite for the hydration break that, nonetheless, was called in this air-conditioned stadium. Their supporters made the point heard, boos echoing from all sides. It was a godsend for Potter, who used the three minutes for an animated team talk needed to bear fruit. He switched to a back four and immediately Sweden appeared liberated, belatedly aware they had let the occasion drift by.
Gyökeres appeared to benefit more than most, setting up a clear chance for Yasin Ayari before scuffing a shot of his own. He forced two decent parries from Verbruggen before the interval, the second from a free-kick, while Ayari hammered just over after a slick move. When Gustaf Lagerbielke headed a set piece past Verbruggen they sensed a lifeline only to see the flag raised. Ayari made Verbruggen tip around the post with the half’s final action; Potter’s switch had transformed Sweden’s performance level but without the tangible reward required.
Their opponents, meanwhile, knew exactly how to treat themselves. Koeman introduced Summerville for Malen at half-time and, moments after the restart, he twisted Sweden in knots down the right before nudging Dumfries towards the byline. Dumfries, his delivery unplayable once again, provided Gakpo with a chance he could not miss.
The rout showed little sign of abating now. Seven minutes later Isak squandered possession needlessly in a promising position and the Netherlands, as they had all afternoon, sprung upfield with staggering ease. The fourth goal was nonetheless brilliantly put away by Gapko, who took a pass from Summerville and cracked low to Kristoffer Nordfeldt’s right from 20 yards.
This was becoming problematic for Sweden, who were using up the lives granted to them by obliterating the Tunisians. Potter made a triple substitution and instantly discovered some benefit when Elanga, one of those introduced, ran on to a pass from Isak and finished emphatically. There was still half an hour to play; the livewire Elanga continued to threaten, one turn on the byline drawing gasps, and this time it was Sweden who rued the pause for advertisements and unsolicited musical entertainment.
They kept fizzing balls across the Netherlands box but it was Summerville, whose every contribution caught the eye, who marauded centrally and stroked in an unerring finish to thrill the orange masses yet again.