Brobbey and Gakpo at the double as five-star Netherlands crush sorry Sweden

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. …