Euro 2016: Wales continue their unbeaten run; Iceland stun Dutch

Wales continued their unbeaten start to the Euro 2016 campaign as a nervy 2-1 triumph over Cyprus, after they had been reduced to 10 men, bolstered the nation's dream of qualifying for a major championship finals for only the second time.

Two first-half goals from substitute David Cotterill and Hal Robson-Kanu put the home side on the way to a victory which sees them lead Group B with seven points and will feed the idea that Chris Coleman's team could emulate the 1958 Welsh side, which played in the World Cup in Sweden.

They had to graft to victory the hard way, though, after Cyprus pulled back a first-half goal through Vincent Laban's free kick and then sought to capitalise when Andy King was sent off for a raking challenge on Constantinos Makrides.

Down to 10 men but still inspired by another excellent performance from man of the match Gareth Bale, creator of Robson-Kanu's goal with a lovely back heel, Wales could easily have succumbed to an 83rd minute equaliser but the unmarked Georgios Efrem headed over.

Dutch stunned by Sigurdsson double for perfect Iceland

The Netherlands suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Iceland who maintained their perfect start to Euro 2016 qualifying thanks to Gylfi Sigurdsson's first-half double on Monday.

Sigurdsson had been a doubt with an injury sustained against Latvia on Friday but the Swansea City midfielder featured from the start and was worth his weight in gold for the hosts.

He scored his first goal in the 10th minute of the Group A game when he converted a spot kick conceded by Stefan de Vrij, who fouled Birkir Bjarnason inside the penalty area.

Sigurdsson then doubled his tally three minutes before halftime when he fired home after being quickest to react to a loose ball after the Dutch failed to clear a corner.

The Dutch, who remain on three points, face a tough task to progress as they trail group leaders Iceland and Czech Republic, who earlier beat Kazakhstan 4-2, by six points in the table.

The Netherlands had never lost to Iceland, having won nine out of 10 previous matches -- the other was a 1-1 draw in Reykjavik in 1982 -- but could not break down their defence.

The hosts were full of confidence after 3-0 victories over Turkey and Latvia in their previous qualifiers.

Netherlands coach Guus Hiddink threw Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for Wesley Sneijder at halftime but, unlike against Kazakhstan in their last qualifier when the Shcalke 04 striker scored, he could not get the Dutch out of their plight this time.

Debutant Pelle hands Italy win over 10-man Malta

Italy striker Graziano Pelle scored on his debut to earn a 1-0 away win over 10-man Malta with the visitors having hit the woodwork four times in their Euro 2016 qualifier on Monday.

The Southampton striker, one of four changes made by Antonio Conte after Friday's laboured 2-1 home win over Azerbaijan in Group H, struck from close range midway through the first half.

Malta fought bravely, especially after captain Michael Mifsud was dismissed in the first half, while the Italians also finished with 10 men as Leonardo Bonucci was shown a straight red card late on for impeding the advancing Andre Schembri.

Italy have a perfect three wins while Malta, who lost 3-0 at home to Norway on Friday, are still looking for their first point. The Italians are level at the top on nine points with Croatia, who beat bottom side Azerbaijan 6-0 on Monday.

Bosnia and Belgium share spoils in 1-1 draw

Bosnia and Belgium drew 1-1 in an entertaining Euro 2016 Group B qualifier after midfielder Radja Nainggolan cancelled out Edin Dzeko’s first-half opener for the Balkan nation on Monday.

A clinical strike by the lively Dzeko gave Bosnia the lead against the run of play before Nainggolan equalised thanks to a blunder by keeper Asmir Begovic, who had kept his team afloat in the first half.

The result left the Belgians on four points from two games after their opening 6-0 home rout of Andorra while Bosnia have two points from three matches following a 2-1 home defeat by Cyprus and a 0-0 draw at Wales.

The Welsh top the group with seven points from three games after a 2-1 home win over Cyprus.

Although the outcome in Zenica piled more pressure on the Bosnians, coach Safet Susic remained upbeat about his team's chances of reaching a second successive tournament as an independent nation following an early World Cup exit.

Croatia drub Azerbaijan 6-0 in Euro qualifier

Croatia thrashed Azerbaijan 6-0 in their Euro 2016 qualifier in Osijek on Monday, a first half double from substitute Ivan Perisic helping them continue their 100 per cent start with a third successive win in Group H.

Against a side whose game plan was simply to defend at all costs, it still took only 11 minutes for Croatia to forge ahead as Andrej Kramaric converted from close range after a precise cross from Darijo Srna.

Perisic, on the substitutes' bench, may have been expecting to miss out on any goal deluge but was given an unexpected early chance to shine when Mateo Kovacic had to come off injured after 24 minutes.

Ten minutes later, Vfl Wolfsburg winger Perisic headed home Ivan Rakitic's free kick and, in the dying moments of the first half as Azerbaijan's defence completely fell apart, he made it three with a fine header from Danijel Pranjic's cross.

Two minutes into first half stoppage time, Luka Modric's brilliant pass set up Marcelo Brozovic to make it four before Modric himself converted a penalty after the break following a foul on Srna.

An own goal by Rashad Sadygov completed Azerbaijan's misery just after the hour mark, leaving Croatia to contemplate a much more meaningful encounter when they meet Italy, also unbeaten on nine points, in Milan next month.