FIFA World Cup: Brobbey, Gakpo strike twice each as Netherlands routs Sweden 5-1 to lead Group F

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Published - June 21, 2026 02:06 am IST - Houston Netherlands' Cody Gakpo runs with the ball during the World Cup Group F soccer match between the Netherlands and Sweden in Houston, on June 20, 2026. | Photo Credit: AP Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo scored two goals apiece to power Netherlands to a 5-1 win over Sweden on Saturday (June 20, 2026) in the World Cup to bounce back after a disappointing draw in its opener and move atop the Group F standings. Brobbey's goals came in the first half, helping the Netherlands get off to a great start and roll to the big win after playing Japan to a 2-2 draw on Sunday (June 14, 2026). The victory gives Netherlands a group-leading four points. Sweden has three points, with Japan and Tunisia scheduled to play later on Saturday (June 20, 2026). Gakpo, who also had an assist, extended the lead to 3-0 just after halftime, scoring in the 47th minute off a cross from Denzel Dumfries. He matched Brobbey when he scored on a right-footed shot from the left box in the 54th minute. Sweden couldn't build on its strong performance in a 5-1 walloping of Tunisia in its first match. The loss to the Dutch was its biggest World Cup defeat since losing 7-1 to Brazil in 1950. The Dutch gameplan to play out wide to open up Sweden and cross to Brobbey worked perfectly early. He put the Netherlands on top in the fifth minute when Gakpo crossed into the middle of the box and Brobbey one-timed it with his right foot before tumbling forward to the grass. His second goal came when he took a cross from Dumfries while sliding and just got his right foot on the ball, scoring inside the far post in the 17th minute. Anthony Elanga's left-footed goal cut the lead to 4-1 in the 59th minute and allowed Sweden to avoid the shutout. Sweden had plenty of chances to score before that, but Netherlands' goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen was brilliant in the first half with four saves. Sweden appeared to have cut the lead to 2-1 on a header by Gustaf Lagerbielke in the 44th minute, but he was ruled offside. Lagerbielke is a baron from a noble family in Sweden. His father and grandfather are counts. But he wasn't the only royalty in the stadium Saturday as the Netherlands had two very special guests cheering them on with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima watching from a luxury suite. The crowd of 68,777 was largely made up of fans of the Netherlands, many of whom made their Oranje Fanwalk 2 1/2 miles from Rice University to Houston Stadium on Saturday morning. Crysencio Summerville, who assisted on Gakpo's second goal, tacked on a goal for Netherlands in the 89th minute and celebrated with NBA star Steph Curry's “night night” gesture. Sweden finishes group play Thursday night against Japan at Dallas Stadium, and Netherlands meets Tunisia that night in Kansas City. Netherlands / Sweden / FIFA World Cup 2026 / Football Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

FIFA World Cup: Brobbey, Gakpo strike twice each as Netherlands routs Sweden 5-1 to lead Group F

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FIFA World Cup: Brobbey, Gakpo strike twice each as Netherlands routs Sweden 5-1 to lead Group F

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