The group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup continued on Saturday.
Germany partied prefer it was 2014, the Netherlands made historical past, and Curacao earned its first World Cup level.
Right here is our speedy response from the day’s matches.
Sweden’s luck runs out
Sweden was an unlikely chief atop Group F following the primary set of video games after struggling in UEFA qualifiers, scoring 4 targets whereas conceding 12 in the course of the first spherical of UEFA qualifiers. The Blagult
made it to the World Cup solely after successful a second-round playoff, and after a win to start out the worldwide event, it crashed again to actuality in a 5-1 loss to the Netherlands.
The Dutch scored 5 minutes into the competition and constructed a 4-0 benefit by the 54th minute. Sweden made issues attention-grabbing for a short second when substitute Anthony Elanga offered a lift, nevertheless it couldn’t sustain with its far-superior counterpart that entered No. 8 in FIFA/Coca-Cola world rankings and left main the group.
Whereas Sweden stays in a good spot to advance to the knockouts as both a runner-up or one of many eight greatest third-ranked squads, Saturday’s end result might have been an indication it’s already peaked.
Netherlands’ cup runneth over
A 3-time World Cup runner-up, the Oranje is likely to be pondering, “Why not us?” after Saturday’s resounding win. The Netherlands steamrolled by means of UEFA qualifiers, outscoring opponents 27-4 in eight matches whereas ending first in Group G, and resembled that kind on the pitch in defeating Sweden.
Striker Brian Brobbey, 24, was an unlikely early contributor towards Sweden, scoring his first two targets for the nationwide crew this yr in simply his second begin. Ahead Cody Gakpo, who had 4 targets throughout qualifiers, added two extra following intermission earlier than Crysencio Summerville put Sweden to sleep with a lovely 89th-minute strike.
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