Could this be the tournament that the Netherlands finally breaks the "dark horse" label and becomes a legitimate contender?ย
Their first-half performance against Sweden may have given La Oranje some hope that they would reach the World Cup Final once again.ย
The team's barnstorming first half, in which they scored two well-worked goals thanks to Brian Brobbey and had the majority of the possession, could give Dutch fans something to cheer as they look towards the Round of 32.ย
Led by an attack with Brobbey, Cody Gakpo, and Donyell Malen and a midfield of Frenkie de Jong and Tijjani Reijnders pulling the strings, the Dutch played an exciting brand of football which saw the Ronald Koeman-led side flood the box, attack with pace, and crash the Swedish penalty area with ruthless efficiency.ย
They ended the first half with four shots on target and two big chances created.ย
Coupled with a solid defense featuring Mickey van de Ven and Virgil van Dijk,ย the first 45 couldn't have gone better for the Dutch.
For Sweden, a promising 5-1 thumping against Tunisia in their opening match gave them some hope they could make their match against the Netherlands competitive.
While going down two goals early all but sucked the energy out of the team, the Swedes did manage to scrap back some semblance of cohesion, nearly nabbing a goal back through Gabriel Gudmundsson late in the first before it was disallowed for being offside.ย
With both teams looking to punch their ticket into the Round of 32, the second half is sure to be a good one.ย