Danny Blind off to a dismal start as Holland lose ground

Holland lost ground in their bid to secure automatic qualification for Euro 2016 as they were beaten 1-0 by Group A leaders Iceland on Thursday after being reduced to 10 men in the first half.

Gylfi Sigurdsson scored the only goal of the game for Iceland from the penalty spot in the 51st minute after the hosts had Bruno Martins Indi sent off in the 33rd minute.

The defeat means Holland remain third in the group, eight points behind leaders Iceland and six adrift of second-placed Czech Republic, who beat Kazakhstan 2-1.

Yuri Logvinenko opened the scoring for the Kazakhs in the 21st minute but two second-half goals from Milan Skoda, including an 86th-minute winner, saw the Czechs keep their qualification on track. Turkey drew 1-1 with Latvia in the other Group A game.

Elsewhere, Wales maintained their grip on the top of Group B and continued their unbeaten qualification run with a 1-0 win over Cyprus. Gareth Bale headed the only goal of the game in the 82nd minute to snatch the victory which kept Wales three clear of second-placed Belgium, who defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-1.

Roma striker Edin Dzeko put Bosnia and Herzegovina ahead in the 15th minute before Marouane Fellaini and new Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne put the hosts 2-1 ahead at half-time in Brussels. Eden Hazard sealed the win from the penalty spot in the 78th minute. Israel kept alive their hopes of a top-two finish in Group B with a comfortable 4-0 victory over rock-bottom Andorra in Haifa.

Eran Zahavi struck the opener after just three minutes, with Nir Bitton making it 2-0 with a 22nd-minute header. Brighton striker Tomer Hemed added a third from the penalty spot four minutes later before Munas Dabbur completed the scoring.

Meanwhile, Graziano Pelle's 69th-minute goal saw Italy defeat Malta 1-0 to move top of Group H while Norway remain third after their 1-0 win over Bulgaria, Vegard Forren scoring the only goal just before the hour mark.

Croatia drew 0-0 with Azerbaijan in the other game to slip into second place as their goal difference is worse than Italy's.

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