De Jong earns the right to party [AFP]

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."

England in sight

England's 7,000-mile round journey to Kazakhstan on Saturday produced an emphatic 4-0 victory to leave Fabio Capello's side in sight of qualifying.

The trip was ultimately a comfortable one although England endured a scary ride before goals from Gareth Barry and Emile Heskey just before half time settled their nerves.

A 2-0 interval lead flattered the visitors but they improved after the break with Wayne Rooney's hooked shot and Frank Lampard's penalty finishing off their lowly-ranked opponents who arguably played the game's better football.

England's victory means they have won six out of six in Group Six, topping the table comfortably seven points clear of Croatia, followed by Belarus and Ukraine.

Victory over the group's whipping boys Andorra at Wembley on Wednesday will sign off an encouraging season for Capello's England before they return in the autumn to put what they hope will be the finishing touches to their qualification campaign with games against the chasing three.

Slow pitch

"It wasn't easy to play here, the pitch wasn't fast like English pitches and it made passing very hard," Capello told Setanta Sport.

"They started strong, pressed a lot, and for us it was difficult, but that's sometimes what happens when you play against a team who aren't at the same level.

"It's another big step forward to qualification."

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.

Slovaks dream

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 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.

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.