The Netherlands and Sweden entered this match in very different places.
Going into the game, the Netherlands had been struggling. They didn't win the two warm-up matches, and against Japan, they didn't really play the Dutch way. In the end, the result was okay, but there were a lot of criticisms in Holland about how they played, about the changes and about playing with fear.
As for the Swedes, they only just qualified at the last second, and it was in general not a good time for Swedish football, but they brought in a new coach who has been very successful, and then they started the tournament with a great opening game against Tunisia, in terms of the score. So they entered this match in a very confident way.
However, the Dutch started very strong. They were very energetic. They really wanted to play more or less the Dutch way, attacking and dominating. You could see that there was a higher speed to their play. There was a lot of movement in their game, especially in the beginning.
That resulted in a fantastic goal from Brian Brobbey after five minutes, a reward for the way they started, the way they played, really in the Dutch way.
Brobbey brings new options
Brobbey quickly got a second goal, and both came from crosses. I said after the Japan match that if you play against a compact defence like that, you need to force the initiative by exploring the space behind the defence, getting in crosses, and producing individual actions, and I think they did all that from the start.
The first goal started with goalie Bart Verbruggen, who played a long ball from Brobbey to lay off to a teammate, and that's a very useful option to have.
If you want to win the game, you need to score goals. The shortest way to score a goal is basically from your goalplayer directly to the goalplayer of the opponent, which is almost impossible. The next best way is for the goalplayer to play the ball behind the defence for a teammate, because then it's a 1v1 with the other goalie. If that's not possible, a long ball at the chest or at the feet of the forwards is very valuable.
I remember when I was at Bayern Munich, we couldn't play out from the back really because the opponent was pressing very well, and we didn't have players who were comfortable handling that, so we used long balls to Mario Gomez.
He could control or flick the ball behind him, and on the wings, we had Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, who made runs in behind with their incredible speed, so after we used long balls a few times, the opponent already started dropping back. We also sometimes just played long balls in front of Robben or Ribery and went from there.
You can use it in many ways, and it gives you extra options. This was a beautiful example of a long ball to one of the front three players, and I'm happy that it happened, because everybody thinks you need to build up short, but when you play the ball long, it can also be a perfect build-up strategy.
So I think it's a valuable weapon that every goalie should have because it opens the possibility to build up play in different ways.
At the other end, if you are Brobbey and you come in and score this early, it gives an incredible boost to the team and to the player.
A game of four quarters
At the start, the Swedish team were not defending compactly as the Japanese did, and they were also not aggressive; they were not pressing at high intensity. Japan were very compact, and didn't give away a lot of space and time, but now you could see the Dutch had an ocean of space, had an ocean of time.
But an interesting thing happened. The Dutch played the way we would like the Dutch to play, dominating, creating chances, scoring and not giving away a lot, but then we had the water break.
What we're seeing happen in this World Cup is that a match is no longer two halves, but instead is basically four quarters.
In this water break, the Swedish coach decided to change his team organisation, his system of playing. He went from five at the back to four at the back, which meant he got one player more in the midfield.
On a side note, I do think he could've made the change earlier. The Japanese coach has been using a simple whiteboard to give instructions to his players during matches, writing down a number associated with a certain change, and I love that way of communicating; it's so simple, but it's so fantastic. I think the Swedes could have used it and changed things earlier.
Anyway, what we saw after the water break because of the change was that the Dutch gave away the initiative. They gave away ball possession and the threat they carried, and the Swedish became better. They had more of the ball, and they played pretty easily through the pressure of the Dutch. The Dutch sometimes tried to press high, but the pressure was not good enough.
It's interesting; the Dutch were always complimented before the World Cup on their strong defence and not so strong attack, but in this game, it was exactly the opposite. The attack was very strong, the midfield was strong, but then when we had to fall back, we couldn't defend like the Japanese. Although that is not only the responsibility of the defenders; you need to defend as a whole team, and that was not the case.
The Swedes took over, and they did create chances. Verbruggen did a good job at that moment; he was saving what he should save.
Then, at the start of the second half, the Netherlands came out very strong again, quickly getting two goals.
Sweden started okay, they were following up on that strong end to the first half, but basically the first attack of the Dutch was a goal from Cody Gakpo, which immediately eliminates all the energy of the opponent as well. Sweden had energy; they got the feeling that something could happen, and it was eliminated with two fantastic goals from Gakpo.
Then, what you saw with Sweden in the second part of the second half is that they did better on the ball and were quite dominant at times, but didn't create big, big chances. They had possibilities, but the possibilities didn't turn into chances.
If they could have scored to make it 4-2, it's a little bit more of a match, but then the Netherlands scored again with a great goal from Crysencio Summerville, and the game was over.
So overall, what we could see in the game is that the Dutch made two good starts that were rewarded very quickly with goals. I think they were very productive, very efficient, scored great goals, and at the right times.
De Jong conducts the orchestra
When Summerville came on, it was clear that he really is in great form. Donyell Malen hasn't been as effective as he usually is so far at this World Cup, and we could see that Summerville was very effective himself and added a lot. Gakpo was a lot better, and Brobbey got two goals - what more do you want from a striker? - but Malen was a little bit behind; when Summerville came in, it was a top-level front three.
Behind them, lots of other players look to be growing into the tournament too.
Verbruggen did a good job; he was very decisive in certain moments and is a reliable, stable goalie at the moment. Ryan Gravenberch was also very stable, very consistent. We saw more of Denzel Dumfries on the right.
Frenkie de Jong was also more stable. He did get some more space and some more time than he did against Japan, but you can see he developed his own game as well.
Having worked with him when I was with the national team from 2021 to 2022, I can confirm that De Jong is incredibly important to this team.
He was more or less eliminated in the game against Japan, who did a very good job with a very clear plan, and it hurts the team if Frenkie cannot get the ball. If he plays the way he can play, he plays well, and the other players also play better.
If you pass the ball to somebody and he can immediately keep things ticking with the right pass at the right moment and the right speed, it's so incredibly valuable. He's playing the balls to eliminate an opponent, not just to find another teammate.
That and the fact that he just doesn't lose the ball make things a lot easier for those playing with him, and we could see that with Gravenberch, who was exceptional in this game. He didn't have a beautiful assist like against Japan, but he was so valuable in all other moments of the game, in keeping the ball and winning it back at the right moments.
With his passing and positioning, and by setting the right tempo, De Jong brings out the best in his teammates. You want Frenkie on the ball, and when you have Frenkie on the ball, he makes things happen for the team.
Rather Brazil than Morocco
With this win, the Netherlands set a new record for the longest unbeaten run of World Cup matches. I was lucky enough to be part of the tournaments in 2014 and 2022, and we didn't lose a second game outside of penalty shootouts, which is amazing, and that run has now been extended at this tournament. So, as a nation, we're obviously very difficult to beat.
The goal now has to be going a step further and winning the World Cup, and if we want to do that, we still need to improve.
If you look at Japan, things are stable and consistent. They're very consistent in how they play, how they want to play, and how they execute that. That's what we still need to find: more consistency and more stability in our way of playing.
The game against Tunisia is the perfect chance to work on that to accomplish that, and I definitely wouldn't rotate the team, unless there are some question marks with injuries, for example. Definitely not. You need to get in that rhythm, and you need to stay in that rhythm.
The players are used to playing many games a week because they are all in top leagues, and I would be very careful about rotating for the sake of it. I would try to get more momentum and more consistency instead.
Ronald Koeman can also refine things, and given the defensive issues, he could consider trying five at the back.
Having five defenders doesn't mean you are weaker; it can be even more offensive than with four in the back, and we have players on the wings - especially Dumfries - who are perfect to play in that way. It just means you get a little more stability in the defence, which is why we chose it in 2014 and 2022, especially against the better teams.
We're likely to face one of those better teams soon, with Brazil and Morocco our most likely opponents in the first knockout round, and of those two, I would rather play Brazil.
Often, the Dutch play better against the bigger nations, and I think there'd be a lot more emotion in a clash between them and Morocco, with lots of Moroccan players and fans having close connections to the Netherlands. They also simply have a very good team.
Brazil, of course, always has a team that can be world champions, but we played them in 2014 in Brazil and won 3-0. Our strength was that we were really a team, and if you're really a team, it's very difficult for Brazil to beat you.
If I look at Brazil now, they are also not like the great Brazil sides of the past. They are also searching for some stability and consistency. Both are interesting opponents, and neither is impossible for the Netherlands to beat at all.
You can follow Frans Hoek on Instagram here and his company Goalplayer here.
