Group 9 may be the smallest of all the European groups in the race to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa but it has proven to be the group which has provided Europe’s first guaranteed entrant in the big football event next summer.

The Dutch team were always clear favorites to progress from the group, though seven victories out of seven is probably more than was expected, especially after the way the Dutch teams charge fizzled out at Euro 2008.

The first couple of games saw the Dutch absolutely dismantle the French and Italian teams, but by the time they rested players in their last game and moved to the knock-out stages, they did their usual Dutch self destruction tactic. The future of the squad was precarious at best.

This may have led to a level of doom and gloom that was higher than was really justified and new coach Bert van Marwijk, certainly nowhere near the player that Marco van Basten was, has proven himself to be an adept coach.

With just one match to go, the Dutch could find themselves with a 100% campaign record though it will be a difficult task to achieve. The motivational skills of the management team will need to be at their very best to inspire the team to rise and win.

Holland may have only one match to play in their campaign but Scotland still have three games, with the final match being the home tie versus Holland at Hampden. Scotland is currently in second place and is very much in the hunt for a place in the play-offs.

The Scottish team has not been present at a World Cup since France 1998, so it has been a long decade for the Tartan Army. They still have a lot to do before they are able to book their place in the sun – with Macedonia and Norway still in the running for that coveted World Cup spot.

Another country who has booked their place in South Africa is North Korea, who will join their neighbors South Korea, as well as Australia and Japan in heading to the World Cup from the Asian qualification section.

The two teams who will play off before facing New Zealand have also been decided and Saudi Arabia and Bahrain can look forward to a September showdown before the final round against the winners of the Oceania group.

Whoever finally completes the Asian or Oceanic selection will have a lot to look forward to and if the Confederations Cup is anything to go by, the atmosphere inside the stadiums will prove to be electric.

The constant noise coming from the stands has already bemused and delighted the TV watching public and there is likelier to be an even bigger buzz when the real tournament starts and the world’s greatest players start to descend on South Africa.