**Tijjani Reijnders and Netherlands sent a clear message in Houston with a dominant 5-1 demolition of Sweden on Saturday, vaulting them to the top of the World Cup Group F standings.**
After settling for a draw against **Japan** in their tournament opener, **Ronald Koeman**‘s squad came out firing and never let up, banking a result that puts their progression to the knockouts largely in their own hands.
**Brian Brobbey** set the tone early, netting twice within the opening quarter-hour to give the Dutch a commanding cushion.
**Sweden** briefly threatened a route back into the match when **Gustaf Lagerbielke** headed in from a corner just before the break, but the effort was chalked off for offside.
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The second half saw Netherlands hit another gear almost immediately: **Cody Gakpo** converted a slick **Denzel Dumfries** cross, then doubled his own tally moments later off a Summerville assist.
Sweden finally got on the scoresheet through **Anthony Elanga**, who raced onto a through ball from **Alexander Isak** and beat **Virgil van Dijk** to finish coolly. **Crysencio Summerville**, introduced at the interval, capped the scoring with a late strike to seal the rout.
Notably, Sweden became the first team in **[World Cup](https://cityxtra.co.uk/48525/man-city-world-cup-2026-watch-abdukodir-khusanovs-uzbekistan-handed-opening-group-stage-loss/)** history to open with a four-goal margin victory only to lose their very next match by an identical margin, having beaten **Tunisia** 5-1 in their own opener.
With one round of group fixtures remaining, the table in Group F remains tight, but it’s now the Dutch who control their own path forward heading into their clash with Tunisia.
Minutes Played – 59Expected Goals (xG) – 0.03Total Shots – 1Offsides – 1Crosses (Accurate) – 1(0)Accurate Passes – 9/12 (75%)Passes in Opposition Half (Accurate) – 7/9 (78%)Passes in Own Half (Accurate) – 2/3 (67%)Touches – 24Unsuccessful Touches – 1Dribbles (Unsuccessful) – 1(0)Was Fouled – 2Possession Lost – 8Total Carrying Distance – 26.3mCarries – 5Total Progression – 17.2mRecoveries – 2Ground Duels (Won) – 5(2)
Aerial Duels (Won) – 2(0)
**Data courtesy of Sofascore.**