World Cup updates: Netherlands, Brobbey win 5-1 vs. Sweden in Houston

European soccer fans descended upon Houston Saturday morning as the Netherlands and Sweden faced each other in the third World Cup match in Houston, but not before two enthusiastic crowds of marchers snaked their way through the city’s streets to Houston Stadium. 

The Oranje Fanwalk brought one of the World Cup’s most viral moments to Rice University, while the Swedish fan march kicked off at Helix Park in the Texas Medical Center. The heat and humidity made headlines, closing down FIFA Fan Festival and affecting the morning marchers. At the end of the game, thunderstorms brought a shelter-in-place for the stadium crowd. 

The teams met in a Group F match in which the Netherlands defeated Sweden 5 to 1. 

Andrew Guiliani, the executive director of the White House Task Force for the FIFA World Cup, said he’s been impressed with how Houston’s local agencies and host committee are handling crowds and visitors for the major soccer event, especially amid changing weather conditions.

Tasked with coordinating federal security during the tournament, Guiliani said he flew into Houston early Saturday morning for the match between Netherlands and Sweden. 

“The fan marches coming in, which I thought was managed so well in light of the heat that you get in Houston, and admittedly the Dutch and Swedes probably never felt heat like that in their lives,” Guiliani said. “I thought (they were) managed so well.”

The World Cup has brought a large number of visitors from around the globe, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing more than 5 million visas from 19 countries, he said.

Guiliani also added that like all major events, Immigration and Customs Enforcement will continue to be present at World Cup events.

As the match between the Netherlands and Sweden wrapped up, fans in the stadium were asked to shelter in place because of lightning near the stadium. 

Fans were asked to remain in their seats and follow instructions from stadium personnel. Weather maps showed thunderstorms in the vicinity of Houston Stadium. 

Some fans were pushing to get out of the exits after the end of the game.

Crysencio Summerville’s goal in the 88th minute is the final nail in the coffin for Sweden.

It’s 5-1 now — the same score Sweden beat Tunisia by Sunday — as the Netherlands will emerge from Houston with one of the most impressive victories of the World Cup so far.

The game between the Netherlands and Sweden brought the city’s second sellout during the FIFA World Cup for Houston Stadium, known locally as NRG Stadium. Wednesday’s match between Portugal and DR Congo was a sellout as well. 

Today’s game brought 68,777 fans to the stadium. 

Upcoming matches are set for Tuesday with Portugal vs. Uzbekistan, Friday with Cabo Verde vs. Saudi Arabia and round matches June 29 and July 4. 

Sweden got one back soon after, with substitute Anthony Elanga as the forward gets played through in behind the backline and connects with the shot.

A second goal for Cody Gakpo has turned this game into a blowout.

The forward dribbled into the Sweden defense from the left wing and beat Kristoffer Nordfeldt with a shot to the near post to make it 4-0.

Gakpo now has five goals in his World Cup career after scoring a goal in each of the group stage matches at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

A third goal from the Netherlands started the second half, and in similar fashion to the first two.

The Netherlands played a low cross through the box, but this time Cody Gakpo gets on the end of the pass to slot home his first of the game.

Dumfries notched his second assist of the match as the Netherlands now holds a commanding 3-0 lead.

Sweden thought it had cut the deficit to one on a Gustaf Lagerbielke header off a free kick late in the first half but the goal was ruled out due to off-sides.

The referee’s decision drew boos from the Sweden supporters and the Netherlands entered the half holding on to to a 2-0 lead.

Outside of Brobbey, midfielder Frenkie de Jong is leading the way for the Oranje with five defensive contributions and a game-high 46 passes completed.

Brian Brobbey has his second goal within 16 minutes as the Dutch made it 2-0.

Denzel Dumfries played another low cross into the box, this time coming from the right side, and Brobbey stuck out his foot to redeflect it past Sweden’s goalie, Kristoffer Nordfeldt.

It was a nifty piece of attacking play from Brobbey, who is proving Ronald Koeman right for his decision to play Brobbey in the starting lineup.

For the third-straight game in Houston, a team has found the back of the net in less than six minutes.

The Netherlands, in their highlighter-orange uniforms, gets on the board thanks to a finish from Brian Brobbey, who earned the start today at the center forward spot.

Cody Gakpo provided the assist by playing a low cross from the left side across the box.

The neon orange of the Netherlands’ World Cup uniforms is lighting up significant portions of the Houston Stadium crowd before the start of Saturday’s match with Sweden, who also has a fair share of fans behind the south goal.

Both of the first two games of the World Cup in Houston have been well attended, with Wednesday’s match between Portugal and DR Congo being an announced sellout.

Saturday’s crowd seems to be near a packed house, with a majority of the seats occupied just before the start of the match.

About 30 minutes after the doors to Houston’s 2026 FIFA Fan Festival opened, a speaker announced to the hundreds of people there that the event would close due to a heat advisory.

“Severe weather requires immediate action,” the announcement said. “Exit the grounds now and move to a safe location.”

On the Houston 2026 World Cup Facebook page, a post noted the event is temporarily paused.

“Gates will reopen as conditions permit, according to the post. ‘Visit Football Fiesta locations in East Downtown and support our local businesses for additional match viewing, dining and entertainment opportunities.’

Chris Canetti, president of Houston’s World Cup host committee, rode on top of one of the buses leading the Netherlands fan march wearing a custom “Canetti No. 10” orange jersey.

Over his three decades in sports, Canetti said, he has been able to go to a lot of great events, from Super Bowls to World Series games. The fan march on Saturday, he said, sits above them all.

“That was incredible. I don’t know if you can top that in terms of an experience. It’s one of the greatest things I’ve ever done in my life,” Canetti said.

He added that he thinks the walk is one of the greatest moments in Houston history.

With a sprinkle of rain, Swedish fans completed their march to Houston Stadium at about 10:40 a.m. 

Along the route, Houstonians watched from their balconies, windows and driveways with their phones focused on the yellow and blue sea of people walking by. On Naomi Street, Swedish fans handed many onlookers small flags and hats.

“What country is this?” asked resident Vera Ekeada as fans passed by. “Sweden!” The fans yelled back.

Ekeada ran out to her driveway to get video after she heard the noise of the oncoming crowd.

“I didn’t think it was going to be this many people, but it’s beautiful,” Ekeada said.

At the first cooling station 25 minutes into Sweden’s march, fans crowded the Houston MetroLift area, where water bottles were distributed. Once the cooler ran out of water, fans grabbed handfuls of ice to cool off. 

Elsewhere along the route, A Harris County Fire Marshal truck provided relief to hot Swedish fans, spraying them with water. Other marchers took a break in the air conditioning on a Metro bus.

Fire trucks along the route of the Netherlands march also doused those fans with water as the “feels-like” temperature rose to near 90 by late morning.

– Kathleen Ortiz and Naina Srivastava

Viral German soccer fan Freddy (@freddyLA7 on X) nearly didn’t make it to Toronto for Germany’s next match against Côte d’Ivoire this afternoon after his flight was canceled due to weather.

It seems J.J. Watt, who had previously sent restaurant recommendations to Freddy for his time in Houston, teamed up with American Airlines to save the day. Freddy reported that he and his group got on a flight to Buffalo, N.Y., and drove across the Canadian border.

“We’re on the plane to Buffalo!!! American Airlines was incredibly helpful and made it possible for us to get on this flight. A special thank you to 
@JJWatt for organizing it while we were in the air to Dallas. Big thanks as well to everyone else who offered their help,” he said on X. 

As Swedish music blasted from a speaker, an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 fans dressed in yellow and blue gathered at TMC Helix Park before their pregame trek to Houston Stadium. 

Supporters were treated to a menu of smoked brisket breakfast bake and Jāgermeister. Some pressed cold water bottles to their foreheads in the 89% humidity.

The march left the park at 9:30 a.m. to arrive at the stadium before the noon kickoff against the Netherlands. Just before 10 a.m., Sweden’s fan march made it to the first checkpoint on the way to Houston Stadium.

– Kathleen Ortiz and Naina Srivastava

The king and queen of the Netherlands will be at Houston Stadium for the Dutch team’s match at noon against Sweden.

King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima and the youngest of their three daughters, 19-year-old Princess Ariane, are set to cheer on the Oranje in the Group F battle. Willem-Alexander has been king since 2013. 

Willem-Alexander is the second major political figure to visit Houston for a World Cup. Felix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo attended the national team’s match Wednesday against Portugal.

Fans of all kinds dressed in orange are walking across Rice University’s campus Saturday morning, toward the back of Rice Stadium in preparation of the Netherlands’ fan walk.

There are fans wearing the Netherlands’ jersey and merch but also Astros and Dynamo gear and plain orange T-shirts. A few stragglers are wearing other colors but nearly all fans got the memo about the event’s color scheme.

The march is set to leave campus around 8:45 a.m. to head towards the stadium.

Where: Reliant Stadium (or Houston Stadium in FIFA-speak)

TV: Fox, FS1 and Telemundo

In person: If you don’t have tickets to the match, Fan Fest in EaDo opens at 10:30 a.m. 

Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup. 

Thousands of Dutch soccer fans and their supporters will turn Houston’s streets into a sea of orange Saturday morning as they set off on the famous Oranje Fanwalk ahead of the Netherlands’ World Cup game against Sweden at NRG Stadium.

The Fanwalk, led by the Netherlands’ iconic Oranje Bus, promises to be one of the highlights of Houston’s World Cup experience. It’s a Dutch tradition that brings thousands of supporters together for a march to each of the Netherlands’ World Cup games. 

The superfans, all clad in orange, march behind a double-decker bus known as the “Oranje Bus,” turning pregame festivities into a giant parade.

The 2.5-mile march will start at the Rice University stadium at 8:45 a.m. after and 8 a.m. meetup and head south to NRG Stadium. The exact route has not been made public, but the giant orange bus and thousands of exuberant Dutch fans should be pretty hard to miss. Find more details on the march here. 

Sweden will hold a fan march Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at Helix Park in the Medical Center ahead of the team’s FIFA World Cup match with the Netherlands.

“We sing a lot of songs, of course. We have a drum in front and a big banner,” said Johnny Persson, the vice president of Camp Sweden, a Swedish soccer fan group.

He said the organization expects 5,000 to 7,000 people in their march. Here’s everything you need to know.