Netherlands' Wesley Sneijder (L) vies with Cote d'Ivoire's Didier Drogba during the second round match of World Cup Group C in Stuttgart, Germany, June 16, 2006. The Netherlands won the match 2-1. -Xinhua

The Netherlands qualified for the 2006 World Cup knockout stage after beating World Cup debuts Cote d'Ivoire 2-1 in their second Group C match in Stuttgart on Friday.

The Netherlands, who beat Serbia and Montenegro 1-0 on Sunday, took a 2-0 lead after 26 minutes thanks to goals from Robin van Persie and Ruud van Nistelrooij.

Strkier Bakary Kone pulled one goal back for Cote d'Ivoire with a powerful shot in the 37th minute.

Cote d'Ivoire threatened quite a lot after the interval, but just could not crack the Netherlands' solid defence.

Van Persie opened the scoring with a powerful, curling free kick in the 22nd minute to give the Netherlands a 1-0 lead.

Four minutes later, van Nistelrooij made it 2-0 as he was laid off by superb Arjen Robben and scored from an unmarked position.