Euro 2016 qualifying: Dutch disappoint, Bale stars for Wales, Italy back on top

When it was announced that as of the 2016 edition, the European Championship – or the Euro, in the common vernacular – would be expanded from 16 teams to 24, it was assumed that no major country would ever miss out on qualifying for the thing anymore. With the top two teams in each of the nine groups qualifying automatically and joined by the best third-placed country and the winners of eight playoff entrants, the margin of error seemed to have gotten so big that there was just no way to fail anymore.

The Netherlands, however, is working hard at making that assumption look silly. The Oranje, which placed third at last summer's World Cup by sometimes playing dazzling soccer, teeters on the brink of elimination before the big tournament has even begun.

[Euro 2016 qualifying: Scores and Schedule | Standings | Teams]

New manager Danny Blind, whose appointment as Guus Hiddink's successor was accelerated by a year after the old master manager stumbled to a 3-2-1 record in qualifying, faced a must-win game of sorts against Iceland on Thursday. That is, if the Dutch wanted to qualify directly.

Iceland almost went ahead in the seventh minute in the Amsterdam Arena, when Jon Dadi Bodvarsson failed to make contact with the ball in front of an open goal. Then, around the half-hour mark, Arjen Robben, who had been ripping Iceland apart, stepped off the field with an apparent groin injury. A few minutes later, just as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar failed to redirect a sharp Memphis cross on goal, Bruno Martins Indi was sent off. The defender and Iceland striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson wrestled each other to the ground, whereupon the Dutchman whacked him in the neck with his forearm.

Huntelaar had to come off to make room for another defender, meaning with an hour left to play, the Dutch were down a man and had burned through two of their subs. Iceland didn't need anywhere near that long to go ahead though. Just after halftime, Gylfi Sigurdsson snuck his penalty kick past Jasper Cillessen after Gregory van der Wiel had brought Birkir Bjarnason down in his own box with a poorly timed tackle. The Dutch, continuing to look totally lost in its post-Louis van Gaal era, forged no major chances to equalize in the 1-0 defeat.

Elsewhere in Group A, the Czech Republic came from behind to win 2-1 against Kazakhstan, consolidating its second place. That means that with three games remaining, Iceland is eight points clear of the Dutch and the Czechs lead them by six points. Had, in fact, Latvia not scored a 91st-minute equalizer away in Turkey, Blind's men would have dropped to fourth place, behind the Turks, and found themselves on the outside looking in.

In Group B, meanwhile, Wales maintained its stunning lead atop the group thanks to – who else? – Gareth Bale, who will probably drag Wales into its first Euro or World Cup since 1958 all by himself. In the 82nd minute, Bale's hammered header beat Cyprus and kept his little nation on track to reach Euro 2016 finals in France.

Belgium kept the gap with the Welsh to three points by coming from behind in a crucial game with Bosnia. Edin Dzeko's looping 15th-minute header, which wrongfooted and froze Thibaut Courtois, threatened to hand Belgium its first qualifying loss on home soil in exactly five years (to the day!). But it was undone by Marouane Fellaini's header off a corner, Kevin De Bruyne's swerving rip from distance and the penalty Eden Hazard won and converted himself for a 3-1 Belgium victory.

Over in Group H, the only other one in action on Thursday, Italy reclaimed the lead it lost to Croatia in June with a win over Malta. Graziano Pelle chested home the only goal in a labored victory, although he may have actually done so with his arm. All the same, since Croatia tied 0-0 in Azerbaijan and has been deducted a point because of racism by its fans, the Italians are back on top.

Euro 2016 qualifying resumes on Friday.