Wales reach European Championships
October 10, 2015
On a historic night in Zenica, Wales secured a spot at the European Championships next summer for the first time ever. Despite defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chris Coleman's side confirmed its place at a major international tournament for the first time in 57 years with the help of other results.
Goals from MIlan Djuric and Hertha BSC's Vedad Ibisevic secured a 2-0 win for Bosnia over Wales, but the result meant nothing to the Welsh after Cyprus triumphed over Israel in Jerusalem with a 2-1 win. The defeat is the first for Wales in qualifying, but with a game to spare, qualification was secured, sparking incredible celebrations.
"It's a dream, an absolute dream," said Wales manager Chris Coleman after the match. "We've done it as a unit and now we can look ahead to what will be an incredible summer next year."
Belgium joined Wales in qualifying for the tournament with a convincing 4-1 win over Andorra in Group B's other fixture.
Italy join the party
A 3-1 win over Azerbaijan secured Italy a place at the European Championships in France next year. Sampdoria striker Eder opened Italy's scoring inside 15 minutes and although Azerbaijan equalized through Dmitri Nazarov on 31 minutes, Monaco forward Stephan El Shaarawy restored Italy's advantage just before half time. Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian secured Italy the win on 65 minutes.
Norway beat Malta 2-0 in Group H's other early fixture, but after Croatia overcame Bulgaria later in the evening 3-0, qualification for the Scandinavian country has been put on hold until the final match on Monday.
In Group A's early fixtures already qualified Iceland were held to a 2-2 draw by Latvia, whilst the Netherlands kept hopes of qualification alive with a 2-1 win in Astana, against Kazakhstan. Those hopes, though, took a significant blow when Turkey beat Czech Republic later in the evening, with Bayer Leverkusen's Hakan Calhanoglu on the scoresheet.
The result means that a point for Turkey at home to Iceland on Monday will deprive the Dutch any chance of qualification, with Turkey taking a play-off spot.