Orange army South Africa bound

By Martyn Herman

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

A 2-1 win in Reykjavik, courtesy of goals from Nigel de Jong and Mark van Bommel, 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 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 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.