Far from a done deal
A good half of football. Sweden will be ruing that first quarter when they were far too passive and gave the Dutch too much respect, though full credit to Brian Brobbey who scored twice and bullied Swedish centre-back Isak Hien. Graham Potter’s switch to a back four brought a better performance, but Bart Verbruggen was excellent and Sweden come away with nothing to show for their efforts. Still, it’s far from over.
Lawrence Ostlere in Houston20 June 2026 18:55
Half-time! Netherlands 2-0 Sweden
50’ – Into added time of added time – Koeman wants the whistle – and Ayari shoots low towards the bottom left corner. Verbruggen saves again. This corner is whipped in and the goalkeeper punches away.
Alan Smith20 June 2026 18:50
Netherlands 2-0 Sweden
48’ – Gyokeres tries to bend one. It gets past the wall but not Vergbruggen, who dives to his left and gets a strong hand to the effort. The corner is taken short and worked to Nygren – he fires wide.
Alan Smith20 June 2026 18:48
Netherlands 2-0 Sweden
47’ – Dumfries bundles Ayari over 22 or so yards out and this is an even bigger threat than the previous free kick. The interval is coming at the wrong time for Potter’s men.
Alan Smith20 June 2026 18:47
Netherlands 2-0 Sweden
45’ – There will be four minutes added on.
Alan Smith20 June 2026 18:46
Netherlands 2-0 Sweden
45’ – Sweden briefly think they have a goal back as Lagerbielke meets the cross with his head and squeezes it past Verbruggen.
Except he, and four other team-mates, are offside. Good process from the officials.
(Getty)
Alan Smith20 June 2026 18:45
Netherlands 2-0 Sweden
44’ – Gudmundsson advances to such an extent that Gravenberch decides to bring him down, about 35 yards from goal on the left. It’s a dangerous area for an outswining free kick. Nygren takes and …
Alan Smith20 June 2026 18:44
Netherlands 2-0 Sweden
41’ – Ayari flashes over from the edge of the box.
Alan Smith20 June 2026 18:42
Netherlands 2-0 Sweden
Potter’s tactical switch has worked, forcing his team to play far more on the front foot. But when you’re 2-0 down, you can’t afford to keep squandering chances. A goal before half-time would really change the dynamic…
Lawrence Ostlere in Houston20 June 2026 18:42
Netherlands 2-0 Sweden
40’ – If Dumfries was a couple of inches taller, the Netherlands could be 3-0 up. He rises high to meet a cross from the left but not quite high enough as the leap fails to produce connection with the ball. From the next phase Malen ventures in from the right and sends a low cross-cum-shot that drifts a yard wide.
Alan Smith20 June 2026 18:41
