Iceland took a big step towards sealing their ticket to Euro 2016 with a 1-0 win in the Netherlands on Thursday which put the Dutch in danger of missing the finals in France.
A Gylfi Sigurdsson penalty on 51 minutes ensured that Iceland stay top of Group A with 18 points — eight ahead of World Cup bronze medallists the Netherlands — who are third with three games left.
The stuttering Dutch campaign had already cost Guus Hiddink his job and new coach Danny Blind had a baptism of fire in Amsterdam.
With their backs to the wall the Dutch desperately needed a win but were lucky not to be trailing after seven minutes with Jon Dadi Bodvarson missing in front of goal.
The Dutch lost captain Arjen Robben to an apparent groin injury after half and hour and he was replaced by luciano Narsingh.
And things began to unravel for the hosts when defender Bruno Martins Indi was sent off on 33 minutes for appearing to grab striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson by the neck.
The nightmare continued after the break with Swansea midfielder Sigurdsson converting a penalty awarded after Gregory van der Wiel brought down Birkir Bjarnason.
Blind, the former iconic captain of Dutch giants Ajax, had said he wanted to “breathe new life” into the national side, but time is now ticking on the 1988 European champions’ campaign.
The Netherlands face a must-win journey on Sunday to Turkey, who were held 1-1 by modest latvia, and are fourth with nine points.
Bale keeps Wales top
Nicosia: In Group B, Gareth Bale put Wales within touching distance of Euro 2016 and a first major tournament appearance for 58 years as the Real Madrid’s star’s late goal clinched a 1-0 win over Cyprus.
Bale’s bullet header settled a nervous encounter with just eight minutes remaining in Nicosia and a victory against Israel on Sunday will guarantee their place in next year’s finals.
Wales, who last qualified for a major tournament at the 1958 World Cup, are top of their Group B with 17 points — three points ahead of Belgium who won 3-1 at home against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Israel — third with 12 points after beating tiny Andorra 4-0 — will be looking for a first ever Euro qualification against Wales.
Pelle leads Italy to 1-0 win
Florence: Graziano Pelle saved Italy from embarrassment against Malta again, securing a 1-0 win against the 160th-ranked opponent to put the Azzurri in command of their European Championship qualifying group on Thursday.
It appeared that Pelle used his shoulder or arm to redirect in a cross from Antonio Candreva in the 69th minute of a match that Italy dominated. But it wasn’t clear if the goal should have been disallowed.
Ten minutes earlier, Italy winger Manolo Gabbiadini banged a long shot off the corner of the goal frame.
Italy is level on 15 points atop Group H with Croatia, which was held to 0-0 in Azerbaijan and is likely to lose a point for fan trouble pending an appeal. Norway, which won 1-0 at Bulgaria, is next with 13 points, followed by Bulgaria with eight, Azerbaijan with five, and Malta with one.
In Azerbaijan, the closest either side came to scoring was a shot off the crossbar from Croatia’s Ivan Perisic in the second half. The top two finishers from the nine groups qualify automatically for next year’s tournament in France. The best third-placed team also qualifies automatically, and eight more teams can qualify through a playoff.
Before kickoff in Florence, a minute of silence was observed for the European migrant crisis.
Italy and Mediterranean neighbour Malta have been hard hit by the crisis, with a constant flow of migrants arriving in Italy, and Maltese forces helping out in the EU mission to rescue migrant boats in distress.
The Azzurri produced numerous chances in the first half, with Pelle, Verratti, and Eder all coming close.