Ronald Koeman can sleep easy after his Dutch side demolish Swedes 5-1
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Netherlands' Cody Gakpo scores their third goal against Sweden.
PHOTO: REUTERS
HOUSTON – The Netherlands’ convincing victory in the World Cup on June 20 has offered coach Ronald Koeman peace of mind, as a sharp-looking attack cut Sweden apart in a 5-1 win that catapulted the Dutch closer to the next round.
While he can sleep easily, he warned that the result “will cause fear among opponents”.
An early double from Brian Brobbey, two more in the second half for Cody Gakpo and a late goal from Crysencio Summerville helped the Netherlands cruise to an impressive win over Sweden at NRG Stadium in Houston on June 20.
Netherlands' Crysencio Summerville scores their fifth goal.
PHOTO: REUTERS
At the other end, the much-vaunted attack of Liverpool’s Alexander Isak and Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres were feeding on scraps for Sweden with substitute Anthony Elanga netting their sole goal.
“With that first goal, you saw everything you want to see,” Koeman said of Gakpo’s precise cross and Brobbey’s finish to hand the Dutch the lead in the fifth minute.
“It was a fantastic ball from Cody, and it gave us a fantastic start. That gives you confidence.”
The Dutch had twice let the lead slip in their opening Group F encounter against Japan in Dallas last weekend, so the three points were a massive boost to their goal difference.
Both teams are on four points with an identical plus-four goal difference, but the Dutch top the group on goals scored following Japan’s 4-0 win over Tunisia later.
On paper, the Netherlands have the easier final game against the hapless Tunisians, who have conceded nine in two games after letting in none in qualifying.
“Yes, of course, we needed this. When you start a tournament, you want to start well. It gives you peace of mind,” Koeman said at the post-match press conference.
“There was also a bit more pressure on us to win. Otherwise, everything would come down to the final group match, and you don’t want that.
“We did a lot of things well. But despite the 5-1 victory, you can still see that at certain moments, when the opposition changed the way they play, it took us too long to recognise it.
“It was a good win, but enough things happened that make you say: ‘something has to be better’. Otherwise, you’ve played a complete match.
“If you look further at the goals we scored, that will cause fear among opponents. The way those goals came about, in transition with a lot of pace and a lot of quality, we can be incredibly dangerous.”
The last time Sweden conceded five goals in a World Cup match was against Brazil in the 1958 final when they lost 5-2.
Graham Potter pledged his team would learn from the harsh result, acknowledging his side got off to a poor start from which they could not fight back despite creating opportunities.
Sweden had their chances in both halves, racking up 20 shots in total, nine of them on target.
“They hurt us in the wide areas,” Potter said. “We got off to not a great start in the first period.
“It was one of those things we will learn a lot from. Sometimes you have to have these experiences. I didn’t think it was that kind of game, but we have to learn from it.” REUTERS, AFP