The orange-clad army of Dutch fans can start booking flights for South Africa [ Images ] after the Netherlands became the first European nation to qualify for next year's World Cup finals with victory in Iceland on Saturday.

A 2-1 win in Reykjavik, courtesy of goals from Nigel de Jong [ Images ] and Mark van Bommel [ Images ], left the Dutch uncatchable at the top of qualifying Group Nine with a maximum 18 points, 11 clear of second-placed Scotland who only have three games left.

"Winning six straight World Cup qualifiers deserves a compliment," Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk told RTL4-TV.

"My goal was to qualify for the finals so now we have a year to prepare us. But we also want to win the last two qualifying matches."

England's [ Images ] fans will have to wait a little longer to firm up their travel plans, but a 4-0 win in far-flung Kazakhstan means, like the Dutch, they also have a 100 percent record after six qualifiers and a healthy seven-point lead in Group Six.

Serbia piled the pressure on France [ Images ] in Group Seven, opening up a five-point lead at the top thanks to a 1-0 home victory over Austria while Denmark beat Sweden 1-0 in Stockholm to remain in control of Group One.

Stuttering Portugal kept alive their hopes of qualifying with a last-gasp 2-1 victory in Albania that kept them in touch in Group One, but only just.

They have nine points, seven behind Denmark and four shy of second-placed Hungary with four matches remaining.

Only the winners of the nine European qualifying groups automatically qualify for South Africa with the best eight runners-up having to come through a two-legged playoff.

However, with a year to go until the tournament starts, the Netherlands can relax after completing their qualifying mission with consummate ease. They join South Korea, Japan [ Images ], Australia [ Images ] and hosts South Africa on the confirmed list of finalists.

England, who missed out on Euro 2008 [ Images ], have been transformed under Fabio Capello [ Images ], although the 4-0 win 3,500 miles away from home in Almaty will not linger long in the memory.

They endured a rocky opening 35 minutes before goals from Gareth Barry [ Images ] and Emile Heskey, his first competitive goal for seven years, deflated their hosts. Wayne Rooney [ Images ] and Frank Lampard [ Images ] finished the job after halftime.

"If we beat Andorra (on Wednesday) we are nearly there," Lampard, who scored the winner in last week's FA Cup final for Chelsea [ Images ], told Setanta Sports. "It's been a good week."

Croatia [ Images ], Belarus and Ukraine look set to scrap for runners-up spot behind England. Croatia drew 2-2 at home to Ukraine to stay second, seven points behind England, while Belarus moved above Ukraine into third place with a 5-1 thrashing of Andorra.

Nenad Milijas's penalty gave Serbia a 1-0 home win over Austria to keep them on track for their second consecutive World Cup finals.

Slovakia are on course for their first World Cup after a 7-0 victory over San Marino put them top of Group Three with 15 points, two ahead of Northern Ireland.

World champions Italy [ Images ] were not in competitive action but warmed up for the Confederations Cup with a 3-0 friendly victory over Northern Ireland in Pisa.

Italy lead Group Eight by one point from Ireland with a game in hand after Ireland and Bulgaria drew 1-1 in Sofia.