In his first competitive game in charge, Marco van Basten saw his orange men make a great stride towards the World Cup in Germany.

With only three remaining of the team that played the Czech Republic in June at Euro 2004 only the staunch, some would say incorrigaile, optimist predicted three points as the Czechs are a bogey team to the Dutch and the friendly against Liechtenstein five days before was a waste of everyones time.

Although Czech coach Karel Bruckner could not field some of his top players as well, his B-team tore the Germans to shreds in Portugal. They were not to be underestimated.

And, except in some friendlies, Holland had not beaten a team from the top 20 of the FIFA rankings since Euro 2000 at home, even when at full strength. With almost everything against him Van Basten came, saw and conquered his first three points.

Before the weekend all the exciting new plans of a clean sweep and attacking, exciting play looked like a non-starter when Liechtenstein managed to keep the Dutch at bay with only a 3-0 score in Utrecht.

The home team struggled to find an opening in the tight defending of the semi-professionals and even allowed them some decent shots on goal.

Obviously Holland dominated the game and spent most of the ninety minutes in the opponents half, which is one of the targets of Van Basten has set to restore.

The Liechtensteiners however invited them to do so but then had little trouble to unravel unimaginative Dutch plans of entering the penalty box.

The wingers Van de Bergh (FC Utrecht) and Denneboom (NEC) never once beat their markers to make a decent cross. Both were thanked for their job and sent home.

With Robben and Van Nistelrooy injured and Van der Meyde and Kluivert out of favour, another of Van Basten's promises, to play three men upfront, seemed impossible without a severe drop in quality.

In Romeo Castelen, Pierre Van Hooijdonk and Dirk Kuijt he fielded three strikers who had experienced just four national anthems between them. At 34, Van Hooijdonk had started in just three of his 44 caps and Castelen in one, having missed the Liechtenstein-game with an injury. Dirk Kuijt had made his debut only in Friday's second half. But the coach did not care.

Van Basten's aim to return to the football Holland played in the Seventies therefore remained a nice dream as, on the night, realism surmounted any ambitious plans for an exciting football spectacle.

The side facing the Czechs were well aware that refinement and grace were not the components that could earn them three points and it looked like Van Basten had picked them especially for that purpose.

None of the posers like Kluivert or Seedorf recieved a call-up, while Boudewijn Zenden spent an unexpected weekend with his family in Middlesborough when Van Basten excluded him along with four others from the squad.

Zenden's impersonation of a star defender against Liechtenstein, showing all the right moves and shakes but without any bite, may have been a wake-up call for his generation of footballing millionaires.

Apparently there is now no place anymore for those European top players who think of the national team as a great reunion with their old mates and consider the match as a necessary nuisance. Although wearing a big smile all the time, Van Basten is not afraid to make a tough decision.

With his unbridled enthousiasm however Van Basten just is not your average national coach with grey hair, reading glasses and a permanent frown on his face.

Sitting on a kitchen chair on the sidelines of the Amsterdam Arena at the start of an interview on TV, two days before his first big and immediately crucial qualification game, the playful smile on his face during the introducing sentences of the journalist almost suggested he thought of calling home to tell his kids that Daddy is on the telly.

Then, in the hours before the Czech Republic match he went for a relaxing jog with his assistants on the beach, when they passed a party of football players who were a man short. Van Basten said goodbye to Van't Schip and Witschge and joined the group for a twenty minute kick-about. Somehow, tension seems to have a positive effect on his mood.

Meanwhile, his fearless optimism gave the players enough confidence to fight themselves into the game.

Three defenders and three strikers in the starting line-up should have put pressure on the Czechs but, on the night, the visitors pinned the Dutch in their own half for most of the first half.

Van der Vaart had a free role behind Van Hooijdonk, but found himself isolated and saw little of the ball in the first 45 minutes.

The one time he did, it resulted in the first goal. The Czechs lost possession in midfield and in a neat combination, Kuijt bisected the defence and put Van der Vaart through on the keeper.

Taking no chances, the Ajax midfielder passed on to Van Hooijdonk who faced an open goal: 1-0.

During the first half the better chances may have fallen to the visitors, but they were unable use them thanks to the outstanding Van der Sar.

After the break, Koller found the crossbar with a header, but for the rest of the time, the Dutch defence stood firm.

They were not unlucky when referee Markus Merk was unimpressed by two dives by Baros, who had earlier collected a yellow card for playing on after having lost one of his shoes.

While simmering about the supposed penalty, the Czechs were caught by surprise on a counter-attack. A cross by Dirk Kuijt again wrongfooted the defence and Van Hooijdonk could not miss his second goal.

Although Van der Sar and Van Hooijdonk took the headlines, it was Dirk Kuijt who was the symbol of Van Basten's new reign. Not only with his two assists, but also his persisting, tireless pressure on any opponent nearby, interrupting the Czech build-up. His was an example followed by his teammates.

The Dutch defence, always recognizable for its easy-going zonal marking in the past, now man-marked anyone on their toes, never giving an inch of space, while the midfield closed the gaps.

As Van Hooydonk put it: 'We may have had too much quality on the pitch in recent years. Now we have had to work for the points and every one joined in. Yes, we were lucky, but we really deserved our fortune for our efforts.'