Ukraine beat Kazakhstan 2-0 to make a firm step towards their first ever World Cup finals on Saturday while the Netherlands and Crotia move closer to their dreams.

AC Milan hitman Andrei Shevchenko netted Ukraine's opening goal in the 18th minute, while Kazakhstan's full back Igor Avdeyevnetted an own goal.

Ukraine now have 20 points from eight matches and are five points clear of second-placed Greece and seven ahead of Turkey with only the group winners earning an automatic qualifying berth to the 2006 finals in Germany.

Turkey kept a clean sheet against Greece when they held the reigning European Champions to a goalless draw.

Holland beat Romania 2-0 in Rotterdam to hold on to their lead in Group One but coach Marco van Basten was not entirely happy.

"It wasn't a great match tonight. We didn't play as well as we could have but overall I'm satisfied. I have to take my hat off to young players such as Robben, Lucius and van Persie who did very well."

In Group Three, Portugal beat Slovakia 2-0 after a great performance from Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo.

VfB Stuttgart defender Fernando Meira, set up by Paris Saint Germain's Pauleta, gave Portugal the lead on 21 minutes before Ronaldo doubled the scores four minutes before the break with a 25-metre shot.

Israel kept up the pressure in Group Four as they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.

Italy remained top of Group 5 after a goalless draw against Norway in Oslo, Spain beat Lithuania 1-0 in Valencia to draw level on top of Group 7 with Serbia-Montenegro who drew 0-0 against Belgium, and Croatia and Sweden both had victories to stamp their authority on Group 8.

Source: Xinhua