Netherlands 2 Iceland 0: Netherlands maintain icy cool to remain in command

NETHERLANDS coach Bert van Marwijk has warned there is still work to be done despite his side's impressive start to their World Cup qualifying campaign.

Goals from Joris Mathijsen and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar earned Oranje a 2-0 victory over Iceland on Saturday night to lift them to the top of Group 9.

The table reads well for Dutch supporters as Van Marwijk's men have two wins from two while they also hold a two-point advantage – and a game in hand – over nearest challengers, Scotland. Indeed, the other four teams seem intent on damaging one another's attempts to keep tabs on the top-seeded Dutch.

But the coach remains realistic with another six qualifiers still to be played.

"We are not there by a long way," Van Marwijk said. "We can talk about a good start, that is certain. But for the time being I don't want to look any further than the next match.

"We played well in patches against Iceland. We knew Iceland would defend in numbers. We waited patiently for our chances and they came. In that respect, we did a good job."

The Netherlands will be looking to extend their group lead when they face Norway in Oslo on Wednesday.

Both John Heitinga and Nigel de Jong have been ruled out of the trip with knee injuries, the latter after limping out of the Iceland clash.

There are doubts over the fitness of Arsenal striker Robin van Persie, who missed the weekend's game with hamstring trouble but will nevertheless join the squad today.

Even without Van Persie, it was a comfortable enough win in Rotterdam on Saturday evening, which also marked a return to international football for Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who answered an emergency call from van Marwijk to fill in because of an injury to new No 1 Maarten Stekelenburg.

And he was not the only one on the sidelines, with Celtic striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Arjen Robben, Khalid Boulahrouz and Wilfred Bouma also ruled out for the Dutch.

That list got even longer when Hamburg midfielder de Jong was forced off the field after 14 minutes. But it made little difference as the Netherlands took the lead a minute later.

Rafael van der Vaart, a summer signing for Real Madrid, crossed and Hamburg defender Mathijsen, his former club team-mate, duly converted.

That was how it remained until half-time, but it could have been more. Goalkeeper Gunnleifur Gunnleifsson kept Iceland in the contest as he repelled under-fire Bayern Munich captain Mark van Bommel's long-range drive after 35 minutes.

And when Huntelaar sent Ryan Babel through three minutes before the break, Gunnleifsson produced another fine stop to deny the Dutch a second.

There was still time for another chance, though – Huntelaar somehow heading wide from close range after Netherlands skipper Giovanni van Bronckhorst crossed.

The Ajax forward made up for his profligacy 20 minutes after the break, though, latching onto a pass from Van der Vaart to score with an angled strike.

And the evening ended with a piece of positive team news for the Netherlands, who had Dirk Marcellis making his debut. Midfielder Wesley Sneijder, who has yet to play for his club Real Madrid this season because of injury, came off the bench for a ten-minute cameo. He will hope to make more of an impact when the Dutch travel to Norway on Wednesday.

Former Rangers player Van Bronckhorst admitted his side were now in a very strong position to qualify as Group 9 winners.

The 33-year-old said: "If you do not lose points in your first two matches and other countries do, then you are doing very well. These were an important three points for us. It means we are now first in the table. We played at a good pace and passed well and scored. I think we dominated the game."

But Iceland have now won just one point from three games.