The Fantastic Orange

The official FIFA fan zones are absolutely horrible. In Guadalajara and in Mexico City they have placed them in front of the Cathedral, in the central parts of the city, and they totally get in the way of the  architecture and views of these beautiful places. It is tasteless and without charm, and also lack the local cultural flavour, that is only added by the fans. 

But without FIFAs commercial interests, some places set up local fans zones, as the one I found myself in yesterday, in Coyoacan; it included a decoration of skeletons playing and local foodstalls and a more relaxed atmosphere. 

It was here I was fortunate to watch a fantastic Netherlands side destroy a hapless Sweden side that went on the pitch without any direction. A three-line defense was immediately overwhelmed by an orange machine, who within 17 minutes was ahead 2-0 on two goals by the Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey, who could become one of the great players of the tournament. 

The unnecessary hydration break never came better for any team as it did for Sweden, who clearly returned to the game both hydrated and better organized, and a 4-man defense. Sweden had a couple of shots and more control, but it was clear that the Netherlands were a far better team, and they sealed a nearly-perfect first half with a 2-0 lead.

Second half almost started the same way: ten minutes into it, Cody Gakpo had scored twice, and with a 4-0 lead, the Netherlands relaxed a bit, and the match in fact became quite entertaining as the West Ham striker Anthony Elanga came on for Sweden, and the match opened with chances on both sides. Anthony Elanga indeed scored a consolation for Sweden, but in the end Crysencio Summerville, who had come on in the second half to set up Cody Gakpo, scored an excellent closing goal for the Netherlands.

Crysencio Summerville appeared to get a head injury at the end of the match, but hope that he is ready for the next match, as the West Ham player is surely one of the ones to watch in the tournament.

5-1 cancelled all of Sweden's goal difference from their victory over Tunisia in the first match, and they are looking at a difficult last group match against Japan (who defeated Tunisia 4-0). But the best thing was the Netherlands; a fantastic side that must be one of the candidates for the title for any neutral fan who loves good football.