Iceland, Czechs secure Euro 2016 berths, Wales wait

Iceland made footballing history as they qualified for a major tournament finals for the first time, joining the Czech Republic in securing their berth at Euro 2016.
The island nation, with its population of barely 330,000, became the least populated country ever to qualify for a European Championship thanks to a nervy 0-0 draw with Kazakshtan in Reykjavik yesterday.
Iceland only needed a point to secure one of the top two places in Group A, and captain Aron Gunnarsson of Cardiff City was sent off in the 89th minute just before celebrations erupted on the final whistle.
The result allowed the side coached jointly by Heimir Hallgrimsson and the Swede Lars Lagerback to follow the Czechs and England in being able to book flights to France next year.

England became the first nation to qualify for the 24-nation jamboree on Saturday and the Czechs sealed their place by beating Latvia 2-1 while the struggling Netherlands slumped to a potentially disastrous 3-0 defeat in Turkey.
First-half goals from David Limbersky and Vladimir Darida put the Czechs in control in Riga, and they held on after Arturs Zjuzins got a goal back for Latvia.

Meanwhile, the Dutch are in real danger of missing out on a European Championship finals for the first time since 1984 after suffering a second loss in as many games under new coach Danny Blind.
Semi-finalists at last year's World Cup, Holland fell behind inside eight minutes in a packed stadium in Konya in central Turkey to an Oguzhan Ozyakup goal and Barcelona's Arda Turan doubled the hosts' lead before the half-hour mark.

The Dutch were dishevelled and Burak Yilmaz sealed Turkey's win late on, as Fatih Terim's side leapfrogged their opponents into third place in the section, leaving them in pole position to steal a play-off place.
"We again shot ourselves in the foot," said Blind, who lost 1-0 at home to Iceland on his debut last Thursday. "You make things incredibly hard when you let in easy goals."
"Our fate is no longer in our own hands. I feel really terrible," striker Robin van Persie told Dutch media after the Netherlands suffered their worst competitive defeat since Euro '96.