Brian Brobbey surprises with two quick goals on basic debut for the Dutch team against Sweden

At the start of the match against Sweden, many football fans were surprised when Brian Brobbey started in the starting line-up for the Dutch team. After all, the attacker had only scored one goal in thirteen international matches and was not obviously the first choice for a starting spot. Nevertheless, national coach Ronald Koeman decided to field Brobbey, looking for more physical strength in attack compared to Donyell Malen, who started in the opening match against Japan.

From the first whistle, Brobbey immediately showed why Koeman gave him the confidence. Within 17 minutes, the national coach's choice was justified: the robust striker caused the Swedish defense a lot of problems, held the ball strongly and continuously moved smartly across the field. He was accurate twice and gave the Dutch team a comfortable lead.


With this quick double, Brobbey joins a special list, because in the past 40 years only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lukas Podolski have managed to score twice as quickly at a World Cup as Brobbey in his basic debut. With this, the striker immediately establishes his name on the global stage and sends a clear message to the competition within the Dutch selection.

Brobbey's performance against Sweden sends a strong signal for the remainder of the tournament. For national coach Koeman, this match will be confirmation that deploying a physically strong striker like Brobbey is a valuable option within the current selection. The Dutch can look ahead with a lot of confidence due to the early goals and the solid attacking performance.