The Netherlands scored five goals past Sweden at the Houston Stadium on Saturday and took their first victory at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The morale-boosting victory also allowed the Dutch to secure a number of coveted records in the quadrennial event.
With the 5-1 win, the Netherlands set the record for the most consecutive games without a defeat, bringing the number to 14 on Saturday. Although it lost to Argentina in the quarter-finals in 2022, it was recorded as a draw because the result only came after penalties.
The Dutch team’s last outright defeat in regular time came in the 2006 round of 16 against Portugal in Nuremberg.
The Netherlands is also unbeaten in the group phase for eighteen games in a row, again a record. The last defeat in the group stage came against Belgium in 1994. However, since this loss, in 2002 and 2018, the team has not appeared in two editions.
The victory also saw the Netherlands become only the eighth team to score 100 goals in the FIFA World Cup, joining Argentina, Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, England and Spain.
Published on June 21, 2026
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