Netherlands produced a devastating attacking display to dismantle Sweden 5-1 and strengthen their position as serious contenders in the FIFA World Cup 2026.

For some observers, there was an added layer of intrigue to the contest. It was, after all, Sweden who denied Ukraine a place at the World Cup. Watching the Scandinavians struggle against the relentless Dutch attack only highlighted the level of quality currently on display from the Oranje.

The match burst into life almost immediately. Just five minutes had been played when Brian Brobbey finished off a slick team move. The striker helped launch the attack before timing his run perfectly to meet a precise pass from Cody Gakpo, converting from close range to give the Dutch an early lead.

The pressure continued to mount, and on 17 minutes the Netherlands struck again. A dangerous low cross from Denzel Dumfries caused chaos inside the penalty area, and after a slight deflection off Samuel Lagerbielke, Brobbey reacted quickest to fire home from point-blank range and complete his brace.

Following the cooling break midway through the first half, Sweden briefly found a foothold in the game. The Scandinavians even thought they had reduced the deficit from a set-piece situation, but celebrations were cut short when Lagerbielke's effort was ruled out for offside.

Any hopes of a Swedish comeback disappeared shortly after the restart as Cody Gakpo took centre stage. The Liverpool forward scored twice within ten minutes to transform a comfortable lead into a rout.

His first arrived after another dangerous delivery from Dumfries, with Gakpo arriving at the far post to apply the finishing touch. The second was a moment of individual brilliance. Cutting inside from the left, he effortlessly bypassed Lagerbielke before drilling a powerful strike into the near-bottom corner.

To their credit, Sweden continued to fight and found a consolation goal on 59 minutes. Anthony Elanga latched onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Alexander Isak, surged clear of several defenders and calmly rounded the goalkeeper to make it 4-1.

However, the final word belonged to the Dutch. With a minute remaining, substitute Memphis Depay produced a superb pass to release Crysencio Summerville, who capped the evening with a composed finish from outside the penalty area, curling the ball into the corner to complete the 5-1 scoreline.

World Cup 2026

Netherlands - Sweden 5:1 (2:0)
Goals: Brobbey, 5 (1:0); Brobbey, 17 (2:0); Gakpo, 47 (3:0); Gakpo, 54 (4:0); Elanga, 59 (4:1); Summerville, 89 (5:1)

Netherlands: Verbruggen; van Hecke; van Dijk; van de Ven; Dumfries; de Jong F. (Koopmeiners T., 59); Gravenberch R.; Reijnders (Til G., 59); Gakpo (Lang N., 90); Malen (Summerville, 46); Brobbey (Depay, 72)
Substitution: Summerville (from 46); Koopmeiners T. (from 59); Til G. (from 59); Depay (from 72); Lang N. (from 90)
Bench: Roefs; Flekken; Hato; Geertruida; Ake; de Roon; Wieffer; Kluivert; Weghorst

Sweden: Nordfeldt; Lagerbielke; Lindelöf; Hien; Gudmundsson G. (Stroud, 93); Ayari (Ali, 79); Karlstrom (Zeneli B., 55); Bernhardsson (Elanga, 55); Isak; Nygren (Bergvall, 55); Gyökeres
Substitution: Bergvall (from 55); Zeneli B. (from 55); Elanga (from 55); Ali (from 79); Stroud (from 93)
Bench: Zetterström; Johansson V.; Ekdal; Holm E.; Svensson D.; Starfelt; Smith E.; Svanberg; Sema; Nilsson G.
Yellow Cards: Gudmundsson G. 53; Ayari 75; Bergvall 80