Sweden will learn from Netherlands defeat –Potter
Sweden coach Graham Potter has revealed that the team will learn from their 5-1 defeat to Netherlands in their second World Cup match on Saturday.
After winning their first game against Tunisia 5-1, Sweden capitulated in the encounter to become the first nation in 40 years to score and concede five goals at two different World Cup games.
Interestingly, Netherlands goals were scored by five players plying their trade in the Premier League.
Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo scored a brace, and Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey also scored a brace of his own before West Ham’s Crysencio Summerville added the fifth goal.
Newcastle’s Anthony Elanga scored the only goal for Sweden.
Potter was disappointed with the defeat but promised that the team would learn from the defeat while also praising the Netherlands.
He said: “Obviously really disappointed. It was a tricky one to analyse. I thought we did a lot of good things in the game. We had a lot of opportunities. But defensively, you can’t concede that many and hope to win.
“We’ll learn a lot from the game. We were playing against a good team. They hurt us in the wide areas. The first goal comes from a long ball we didn’t deal with very well.
“We didn’t get off to a good start but we came back into it. Second part of the first half, I thought we were the better team. But then we started badly in the second half.
“The boys kept going but it’s one of those things we’ll learn a lot from. Sometimes you have to have these experiences. We have to accept the scoreline and learn from it.”
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Meanwhile, Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman, was full of praise for Brobbey for his impressive performance in the encounter.
He said: “In that first goal was everything you want, we know that Brian is good at that.
“It starts with Bart Verbruggen, who puts him away well. And then we have a lot of speed and Brian is again in front of the goal. You can’t make a more perfect goal, starting from the goalkeeper.”
Despite the 5-star performance, Koeman insisted that the must do better in their next game against Tunisia.
He concluded: “A great result, but enough moments of which we say: that could be better. Then you play a complete match. And this match was almost like that.
“Despite the 5-1 victory, you do see moments that if they start playing differently, it takes us too much time to recognise that, which meant we got into a little too much trouble before the break.”
Since losing the 2010 World Cup final to Spain, the Dutch are unbeaten in 90 minutes across 14 World Cup matches. Their record reads nine wins and five draws.
The run is the joint-longest unbeaten sequence by any nation in World Cup history, matching Brazil’s streak between 1958 and 1966.
Top Stats From Netherlands vs Sweden
1958 – With their 5-1 defeat to the Netherlands, Sweden lost a FIFA World Cup match by three or more goals for the first time since their 5-2 loss to Brazil in the 1958 final.
1 – With their victory against Sweden, the Netherlands break the records for:
Most consecutive FIFA World Cup matches without defeat (14)
Most consecutive FIFA World Cup group stage games without defeat (18)
2 – Players with a brace within 17 minutes at the FIFA World Cup over the last 40 years:
Ronaldo against Costa Rica in 2002
Lukas Podolski against Sweden in 2006
Brian Brobbey against Sweden in 2026.
