What a dramatic evening, and what a denouement to the Euro 2016 qualifying groups! The headlines, then...
In Group A, the Dutch are out after a farcical 3-2 defeat at home to the Czechs, though it mattered little in the end as ten-man Turkey beat Iceland with a last-gasp free kick of exceptional quality Selcuk Inan. David Beckhamesque scenes, because Turkey go through automatically as the best third-place finishers at Hungary’s expense.
In Group B, Belgium are the new world number-one team, and winners of their group. Wales, pipped at the post, don’t seem to care too much. Bosnia-Herzegovina claim the play-off place.
And in Group H, Norway looked like qualifying automatically before conceding two second-half goals in Italy. The Italians top the group, Croatia snatch the second automatic berth, and Norway have to settle for the play-offs.
Congratulations and commiserations, depending on what mood you’re in as a result of all this.
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And so here are the final scores...
Group A: Turkey 1-0 Iceland, Netherlands 2-3 Czech Republic, Latvia 0-1 Kazakhstan
Group B: Cyprus 2-3 Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belgium 3-1 Israel, Wales 2-0 Andorra
Group H: Italy 2-1 Norway, Malta 0-1 Croatia, Bulgaria 2-0 Azerbaijan
GOAL! Belgium 3-1 Israel (Tomer Hemed 88)
... a header into the bottom right denies Simon Mignolet a clean sheet.
GOAL! Wales 2-0 Andorra (Bale 86)
A shot bobbled into the bottom right. And in the same group ...
HUGE GOAL! Turkey 1-0 Iceland (Selcuk Inan 89)
A free kick from 30 yards, out on the left, whipped into the left-hand side of the net. Not altogether dissimilar to Gary McAllister’s famous last-gasp winner for Liverpool against Everton at Goodison in 2001. That will send Turkey to France as best third-placed team, at Hungary’s expense! And the Dutch are, of course, now out, having lost 3-2.
GOAL! Belgium 3-0 Israel (Eden Hazard 84)
Hazard passes the ball into the bottom right from the edge of the area. Calm. Assured. Classy. What else do you expect from the new world number one team?
GOAL! Italy 2-1 Norway (Graziano Pelle 82)
Norway were so close to Euro 2016 as group winners. Now they’re almost certainly going to drop to the play-offs. Such a thin line. Unless they can bounce back, they now need Malta to do them a big favour against Croatia.
GOAL! Holland 2-3 Czech Republic (Robin van Persie 83)
So this is rather interesting, huh? Van Persie scores at the correct end this time, an instinctive poke at a dropping ball down the inside-right channel, and into the bottom right. They still need two goals, and hope ten-man Turkey concede a winner to Iceland. But this is on! Sort of!
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RED CARD! Gokhan Tore (Turkey 78)
An appalling studs-up challenge on Jón Dadi Bödvarsson’s lower leg, the Icelander’s foot planted on the ground. Bödvarsson will have done well to escape injury there. Meanwhile in other foul-play news, at 9.07pm I wrote that “Danny Blind, already on a yellow card, has taken to kicking folk willy nilly.” Here’s Rob Edwards: “This explains Holland’s problems perfectly. Here they are desperately trying to qualify and the manager is actively kicking opponents on the field.” Yes, just look what I did.
GOAL! Belgium 2-0 Israel (Kevin De Bruyne 78)
A lovely dipping free kick from a central position, 30 yards out, sent bouncing into the bottom left. Belgium will surely win their group now at Wales’s expense. But more importantly, they’re heading for the world number one spot!
GOAL! Italy 1-1 Norway (Alessandro Florenzi 74)
Norway were top of the group a minute ago. Now Florenzi’s goal has dropped them into the play-off spots! Croatia, remember, are winning in Malta. And all of this is enough to see them through automatically. Wonderful tension.
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GOAL! Holland 1-3 Czech Republic (Klaas-Jan Huntelaar 70)
A corner from the right. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar heads down and into the bottom right. Could the greatest switcheroo in Euro qualification history (not counting Spain’s 12-1 win over Malta in 1983, which denied the Dutch access to Euro 84 on goal difference) be on? Er, almost certainly not. But while there’s time, there’s hope!
GOAL! Cyprus 2-3 Bosnia-Herzegovina (Milan Djuric 67)
It’s been to and fro in Cyprus all right. An early lead for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus went 2-1 up, and now Bosnia-Herzegovina are in charge again. Djuric heads a cross from the left down and into the bottom right. The play-off spot is theirs if they can hold on this time round.
GOAL! Belgium 1-0 Israel (Dries Mertens 64)
Mertens owed Belgium something after ludicrously missing an open goal from a couple of yards in the first half. Well, he’s repaid them, cutting in from the left and whizzing a low shot into the bottom left. Belgium will be winning the group as things stand, but Wales have qualified for their first tournament since 1958, and they’re unlikely to get too upset about that.
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GOAL! Latvia 0-1 Kazakhstan (Islambek Kuat 65)
Kuat, powering down the left channel, leans back and threads a shot into the bottom right. Now then! Should Turkey take the lead at home against Iceland, they’ll be in a position to qualify automatically as best third-placed team, denying Hungary. Hmm. Non-stop drama!
GOAL! Holland 0-3 Czech Republic (Robin van Persie 66 og)
Eh, well this really is it. And what a farce! The Dutch sent Van Persie on to score, and he’s done that, but in his own net. Jiří Skalák takes a free kick on the right - Blind gave away the foul, naturally, and the ball drops towards Van Persie, level with the left-hand post, ten yards out. He attempts to cushion a header back to Jeroen Zoet, but only manages to guide the ball into the bottom right, the keeper wrongfooted and his feet planted. That is beyond ludicrous. At least they’re crashing out in style. (See also Scotland.)
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“Could it be that World Cup third-place-curse is back?” wonders Admir Pajic. “Sweden (1994), Croatia (1998) and Turkey (2002) had all failed to qualify for the following Euro after their big success. Of course, Germany didn’t care for that unwritten rule but it seems Holland might start a new sequence.” It’s almost a certainty. They’re pushing the ten men of the Czech Republic back at the Amsterdam ArenA, but not really causing the visitors too much bother. Time is not their friend. They need three goals in the final 25 minutes. And Danny Blind, already on a yellow card, has taken to kicking folk willy nilly. He’s testing the referee’s patience. Should he walk, that really will be it.
GOAL! Wales 1-0 Andorra (Aaron Ramsey 51)
Wales are now leading in Cardiff. Paul Doyle will give you the details of that one.
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GOAL! Bulgaria 2-0 Azerbaijan (Dimitar Rangelov 56)
The only game tonight that means absolutely nothing looks to be going Bulgaria’s way. Rangelov makes it two for the home side, a header powered into the top right. The 1994 World Cup seems an awful long time ago, doesn’t it.
A half-chance for Van Persie, as a ball drops to him 12 yards out, level with the left-hand post. But he slips as he looks to sweep a volley goalwards, and the ball rolls apologetically to the Czech keeper Cech. But the Dutch, blessed with a numerical advantage now after the sending off, are on top. Depay comes at the Czechs down the left, soon after, only to lash a hopelessly excitable shot miles wide left and high. He’d worked himself a good position there, too.
The second half is underway everywhere, except in Cardiff, where a serious injury to an Andorra player caused a long delay in the first half. Paul Doyle will fill you in. Meanwhile, in lieu of early second-half goals, here’s Alan: “I may be grasping at straws here but but does this mean that Scotland are now as good as Holland? That’s got to be progress!”
So here are the half-times. And the headlines as things stand: the Dutch are heading out; Turkey, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia have play-off places; and the group winners will be Czech Republic, Belgium and Norway. But there’s plenty of time for a few changes.
Group A: Turkey 0-0 Iceland, Netherlands 0-2 Czech Republic, Latvia 0-0 Kazakhstan
Group B: Cyprus 2-2 Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belgium 0-0 Israel, Wales 0-0 Andorra
Group H: Italy 0-1 Norway, Malta 0-1 Croatia, Bulgaria 1-0 Azerbaijan
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GOAL! Cyprus 2-2 Bosnia-Herzegovina (Haris Medunjanin 45)
Well this is quite the rollercoaster ride. A deep cross from the left, and Medunjanin, rushing in from the other flank, sweeps home with a gorgeous volley. Bosnia-Herzegovina are back on terms, and back in the play-off spot!
RED CARD! Marek Suchy (Czech Republic)
Depay was chasing a long ball down the inside-right channel. He was going to get there ahead of Suchy, who slid in and upended the Manchester United paceman from behind. That’s a straight red. It’s not over quite yet for Holland!
GOAL! Cyprus 2-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina (Nestoras Mitidis 41)
Constantinos Makridis twists and turns down the right, fires in a low cross, and it’s turned in at the near post by Nestoras Mitidis. Cyprus have turned this around, and right now they’re in the play-off positions! Magnificent drama, and they’ve really capitalised on Bosnia-Herzegovina’s nervousness, which all stems from Begovic’s slapstick show a few minutes earlier.
Holland are in desperate trouble. So they’ve sent Robin van Persie on in Jairo Riedewald’s stead. The final roll of the dice.
GOAL! Holland 0-2 Czech Republic (Josef Sural 35)
The Dutch are done. Sural wriggles down the inside-left channel and pokes home from close range, beating a splayed Jeroen Zoet at his near post. They’ve made every Euro finals since 1988. Well, that run’s coming to an end now, unless something very dramatic unfolds in the next hour or so.
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Bosnia-Herzegovina are still going through as things stand. But they would be feeling a lot more comfortable had Dries Mertens not just missed an open goal from six yards against Israel. What a shank!
GOAL! Cyprus 1-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina (Konstantinos Charalambidis 32)
The Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begović is all over the place. First he drops a cross, and is extremely fortunate that the Cypriots can’t slot the loose ball into an empty net. But soon after he’s fumbling a simple shot, and Konstantinos Charalambidis taps home.
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GOAL! Malta 0-1 Croatia (Ivan Perisic 25)
Croatia are staying on Norway’s tail, though. They can still pip the Norwegians if Italy grab an equaliser. They need to win themselves, though, and Perisic’s deflected shot into the bottom right has set them in the right direction.
GOAL: Italy 0-1 Norway (Alexander Tettey 23)
As things stand, Norway will be going through as Group H winners at Italy’s expense.
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GOAL! Holland 0-1 Czech Republic (Pavel Kaderabek 24)
The Netherlands really are up against it now. Kaderabek cuts in from the right and his whipped shot gives the Czechs the lead, and the Dutch are on the brink.
GOAL! Bulgaria 1-0 Azerbaijan (Mihail Aleksandrov 20)
From a corner on the right, Aleksandrov powers a header into the left-hand portion of the net. It doesn’t matter much, but a bullet header’s a bullet header, and Bulgaria celebrate accordingly.
To Belgium’s bid for the world No1 spot. A free kick for Israel just outside Belgium’s box, to the right of the D. Eran Zahavi curls it around the outside of the wall, and watches in horror as, having beaten the flailing Simon Mignolet, the ball crashes off the right-hand post. Lucky Belgium.
GOAL! Cyprus 0-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina (Haris Medunjanin 13)
The first goal of the evening, and it’s a pearler! Medunjanin whistles a shot into the top left from the best part of 25 yards. As things stand, Wales’ conquerors of the weekend will be assured of the play-off spot.
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But then the Dutch go up the other end. A low cross into the Czech box from the right, and Wesley Sneijder is free on the penalty spot. But he leans back and converts for some rugby union points. That’s no good at all.
A rare old atmosphere in the Amsterdam ArenA. The home fans making the most of European Championship action while they can. But the home side are already looking a little ragged. Jaroslav Plašil has just creamed a shot into the Dutch area from about 35 yards. Not short of confidence, then. The ball pinged around the area like one of Bally Manufacturing’s best. Dutch hearts in mouths before the thing’s hacked clear.
Of course, there’s one other biggie riding on tonight’s results. Here’s Jan Huyse to explain. “There are two big stories adding some spice to the Belgium-Israel game. Will Manchester City like the fact that Vincent Kompany starts? But more important: if Belgium wins they will be (on November 5) the next and newest number one on the Fifa World Ranking. They’d become the eighth (and smallest) country to make the number-one position in history (Spain, Brazil, Holland, Argentina, France, Germany and Italy are the other seven). In June 2007 Belgium was 71st. We all know the ranking is not very important, but the number-one club is a good one to be a member of.” If only this thing had been going in the 1880s. Scotland would have been all over it.
And there we go! Everyone’s kicked off! And within 40 seconds, Holland - who have to win to stand any chance of qualifying - should be leading against the Czechs. Anwar El Ghazi was found in acres down the right, on the edge of the area, but battered a panicked first-time shot straight at Petr Cech’s legs.
Super Victor, though. Ian Copestake has been mulling things over. “Super Victor’s innate happiness may be derived from his innocence of things corporate and corrupt, for he is but a child ...
“Or that his Mum is from California ...
“or perhaps plainly and simply because he is a sociopath.”
Hack Chatting Out Of Hat (No.348,987,298 in an infinite series): Seems I was playing it a bit fast and loose with the old italics in the preamble. For it’s only Bulgaria versus Azerbaijan that means absolutely nothing tonight. “Sorry to correct you, Scott,” - please, Benedek Szabó, be my guest, someone’s got to do it - “but Latvia versus Kazakhstan does have some bearing on qualification matters. In case of an away win, Turkey only need to beat Iceland in Istanbul to be the best third-placed team and snatch automatic qualification from Hungary. The thought of this scenario leaves a whole nation trembling so we’re all die-hard Latvia fans tonight. After 29 years of waiting it would be an unbearably cruel - though I must admit, most typical - way to end the campaign.”
Tonight’s team news (brought to you by Super Victor):
GROUP A
Turkey: Babacan, Ozbayrakli, Aziz, Balta, Erkin, Sen, Tufan, Inan, Ozyakup, Turan, Calhanoglu.
Subs: Akyuz, Yokuslu, Oztekin, Bulut, Tore, Tasdemir, Topal, Tosun, Erdinc, Sahan, Gulum, Gunok.
Iceland: Kristinsson, Ari Freyr Skulason, Arnason, Ragnar Sigurdsson, Saevarsson, Birkir Bjarnason, Gunnarsson, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Gudmundsson, Bodvarsson, Sigthorsson.
Subs: Oskarsson, Jonasson, Jonsson, Ottesen, Finnbogason, Olafur Ingi Skulason, Theodor Elmar Bjarnason, Gislason, Hallfredsson, Kjartansson, Gudjohnsen, Gunnleifsson.
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Firenze)
Netherlands: Zoet, Tete, Bruma, van Dijk, Riedewald, Wijnaldum, Blind, Sneijder, El Ghazi, Huntelaar, Depay.
Subs: Vermeer, van der Wiel, Anita, Rekik, Kongolo, Bazoer, Lens, Dost, van Persie, Afellay, Elia, Stekelenburg.
Czech Republic: Cech, Kaderabek, Suchy, Kadlec, Gebre Selassie, Skalak, Darida, Pavelka, Plasil, Sural, Necid.
Subs: Vaclik, Prochazka, Kalas, Frydek, Skoda, Petrzela, Kopic, Krejci, Novak, Koubek.
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
Latvia: Vanins, Gorkss, Maksimenko, Gabovs, Dubra, Cauna, Laizans, Zjuzins, Aleksejs Visnakovs, Sabala, Rakels.
Subs: Steinbors, Kurakins, Karasausks, Eduards Visnakovs, Ikstens, Ikaunieks, Tarasovs, Fertovs, Jagodinskis, Kamess, Freimanis, Kozlovs.
Kazakhstan: Pokatilov, Engel, Maliy, Logvinenko, Shomko, Dosmagambetov, Kuat, Smakov, Suyumbayev, Nuserbaev, Khizhnichenko.
Subs: Boichenko, Gorman, Kuantayev, Ajtbaev, Konysbayev, Shchetkin, Nurgaliev, Geteriev, Beisebekov, Sidelnikov.
Referee: Steven McLean (Scotland)
GROUP B
Belgium: Mignolet, Vertonghen, Lombaerts, Kompany, Alderweireld, Nainggolan, Fellaini, Hazard, De Bruyne, Mertens, Romelu Lukaku.
Subs: Sels, Witsel, Bakkali, Boyata, Kums, Origi, Meunier, Depoitre, Cavanda, Chadli, Jordan Lukaku, Gillet.
Israel: Marciano, Ben Haroush, Tibi, Ben Haim I, Dgani, Kayal, Yeini, Peretz, Ben Haim II, Hemed, Zahavi.
Subs: Levy, Davidadze, Elkayami, Melikson, Dabour, Vermouth, Tzedek, Reikan, Kahat, Damari, Haimov.
Referee: Tasos Sidiropoulos (Greece)
Cyprus: Georgallides, Demetriou, Junior, Laifis, Antoniades, Nicolaou, Makridis, Laban, Charalambidis, Efrem, Mitidis.
Subs: Panayi, Charalambous, Merkis, Angeli, Aloneftis, Kyriakou, Economides, Kolokoudias, Artymatas, Kastanos, Makris, Negri.
Bosnia-Herzegovina: Begovic, Mujdza, Sunjic, Spahic, Zukanovic, Visca, Medunjanin, Pjanic, Stojan Vranjes, Lulic, Ibisevic.
Subs: Sehic, Grahovac, Bicakcic, Anicic, Ognjen Vranjes, Dzeko, Djuric, Stilic, Hajrovic, Hadzic, Salihovic, Buric.
Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)
Wales v Andorra: Like a pint of plain, Paul Doyle is your only man.
GROUP H
Italy: Buffon, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini, Darmian, Florenzi, Montolivo, Soriano, De Sciglio, Pelle, Eder.
Subs: Sirigu, Astori, Candreva, Zaza, Giovinco, Bonaventura, El Shaarawy, Bertolacci, Santon, Quagliarella, Ranocchia, Padelli.
Norway: Nyland, Elabdellaoui, Hovland, Forren, Aleesami, Johansen, Tettey, Skjelbred, Henriksen, Soderlund, Berget.
Subs: Jarstein, Svensson, Strandberg, Nordtveit, King, Odegaard,
Samuelsen, Linnes, Veton Berisha, Selnaes, Valon Berisha, Hansen.
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)
Malta: Hogg, Zach Muscat, Steve Borg, Agius, Zerafa, Rowen Muscat, Briffa, Failla, Schembri, Kristensen, Effiong.~
Subs: Haber, Alex Muscat, Sciberras, Fenech, Mifsud, Cohen, Grioli, Clyde Borg, Camilleri, Pisani, Baldacchino, Bonello.
Croatia: Subasic, Vida, Corluka, Srna, Badelj, Pivaric, Nikola Kalinic, Kovacic, Rakitic, Perisic, Pjaca.
Subs: Vargic, Vrsaljko, Pranjic, Kramaric, Modric, Leskovic, Brozovic, Olic, Lovre Kalinic.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear)
Bulgaria: Mitrev, Zhivko Milanov, Aleksandar Aleksandrov, Ivo Ivanov, Minev, Georgi Milanov, Dyakov, Zlatinski, Mihail Aleksandrov, Ivelin Popov, Rangelov.
Subs: Iliev, Strahil Popov, Georgiev, Hristov, Kostadinov, Ivan Ivanov, Slavchev, Nedyalkov, Tonev, Nedelev, Makendzhiev.
Azerbaijan: Agayev, Mirzabekov, Abishov, Rashad Sadygov, Medvedev, Ismayilov, Amirguliev, Garayev, Nazarov, Jafarov, Gurbanov.
Subs: Agil Mammadov, Pashaev, Rashad Abulfaz Sadygov, Eddy, Elvin Mammadov, Erat, Guliyev, Hajiyev, Dashdemirov, Anar Nazirov.
Referee: Tamas Bognar (Hungary)
Team news anon, but first things first. Because watch out! The sinister Euro 2016 mascot Super Victor is currently roaming around London. Here he is, jumping the gates at Olympia, where an exhibition dedicated to licensing and brand extension is being held. I know. An exhibition dedicated to licensing and brand extension. The sharpest thing on my desk right now is a teaspoon. Can you open up a vein with a teaspoon?
Preamble
It’s the final night of the Euro 2016 qualifying groups! And don’t worry, domestic football is back at the weekend it’s all to play for.
One automatic qualifying position is up for grabs. That’s in Group H, where Norway are currently in the box seat. If they win in Italy against the already qualified azzurri, they’re through to the finals too. But if they don’t, Croatia can leapfrog them with a victory against the hapless Maltese.
Group B has already cashiered Belgium and Wales to France. But it’s a three-way tussle for the play-off spot. Bosnia-Herzegovina will grab it if they win in Cyprus. Israel must win in Belgium to have any hope themselves, but they’ll need Bosnia-Herzegovina to drop points in Cyprus. The Cypriots can get there if they beat Bosnia-Herzegovina and Israel fail to achieve their goal in Belgium.
All good fun. But the big news could come in Group A, where the Netherlands are in grave danger of missing their first Euro finals since 1984. They need to beat the Czech Republic tonight, and hope Turkey lose at home to Iceland. And even then, they’ll only be getting a play-off spot, the Czechs and Icelanders having already snaffled the automatic spots for themselves.
So here are tonight’s fixtures, which kick off at times various around the continent, but for the purposes of this Brit-based blog, get going at 7.45pm BST. The games that have no bearing on qualification matters this evening are in italics...
Group A: Turkey v Iceland, Netherlands v Czech Republic, Latvia v Kazakhstan
Group B: Cyprus v Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belgium v Israel, Wales v Andorra
Group H: Italy v Norway, Malta v Croatia, Bulgaria v Azerbaijan
It’s on!
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