Netherland lose Euro 2016 qualifier to Iceland; wins for Belgium,Wales, Italy

World Cup bronze medalists the Netherlands suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Iceland to jeopardise their chances of qualifying for next year’s European Championships.

The Dutch, coached for the first time by Danny Blind following Guus Hiddink’s exit, played the majority of the match with ten men after Porto defender Bruno Martins Indi was shown red just after the half-hour mark.
Talisman Arjen Robben had been replaced following a groin injury just a minute before the sending off, adding to the Dutch woes, as things went from bad to worse as they conceded a penalty on 51 minutes, Swansea City’s Gylfi Sigurdsson converting from the spot as Iceland handed the Netherlands their first home defeat in a qualifier since October 2000 – a first in 38 matches.
Danny Blind’s men now lie third in Group A, eight points behind leaders Iceland and six behind the Czech Republic, with three qualifiers left to play.
Elsewhere, Real Madrid speedster Gareth Bale scored his sixth goal of the qualifiers as he helped Wales to a 1-0 win away at Cyprus, leaving the Welsh top of Group B. Lagging three points behid are Belgium, who recorded a 3-1 win over Bosnia Herzegovina, as new Manchester City signing Kevin De Bruyne contributed a goal and an assist for his country.
Italy are joint-top of the Group H standings with a 1-0 win over Malta thanks to Southampton striker Graziano Pelle’s second-half header. Alongside them are European rivals Croatia, who could only manage a 0-0 draw against Azerbaijan.
Thursday night Euro 2016 qualifying results:
Azerbaijan 0 – 0 Croatia       
Czech Republic 2 – 1 Kazakhstan   
Netherlands 0 – 1 Iceland   
Turkey 1 – 1 Latvia   
Belgium 3 – 1 Bosnia-Herzegovina   
Cyprus 0 – 1 Wales   
Israel 4 – 0 Andorra   
Bulgaria 0 – 1 Norway   
Italy 1 – 0 Malta