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Group leaders can almost Dutch their place at finals
Scotland’s World Cup qualifying rivals Holland can tomorrow become the first European side to seal their place at the finals next year.
Bert van Marwijk’s runaway Group 9 leaders know victory in Iceland will book their spot for South Africa with two games still remaining.
The formidable Dutch have won their first five matches – scoring 12 goals while conceding just one – to sit a massive eight points clear of the second-placed Scots. One further win in Reykjavik will complete their mission, meaning their home meeting with Norway next Wednesday and the visit to Hampden on September 9 could be largely meaningless.
Holland, who beat Iceland 2-0 in Rotterdam last year, are almost full-strength for the return game with only midfielders Wesley Sneijder and Ibrahim Afellay missing.
Dutch captain and former Rangers player Giovanni van Bronckhorst said: “We want to grab this first chance.
“We’ve never been able to qualify so quickly for a tournament. Now we have to make sure we take the chance immediately. It’s been a long season, but we all want to reach the World Cup, so we must beat Iceland.”
Macedonia host Norway tomorrow and Iceland four days later, as each country looks to close in on George Burley’s side currently in the potential play-off spot.