Italy striker Eder moves past Rashad Sadygov, of Azerbaijan, in Baku yesterday.Italy made sure of their place at Euro 2016 with a match to spare by beating Azerbaijan 3-1 in Baku, yesterday.
Belgium and Wales also booked their ticket for the France finals in contrasting fashion.
The Belgians secured mathematical certainty after crushing Andorra 4-1 while Wales progressed despite suffering a 2-0 defeat in Bosnia.
Antonio Conte’s men began the day with a two-point lead at the top of Group H, knowing victory over Azerbaijan would see them on a flight to France next summer.
And they overcame the nerves to complete the task, with Eder opening the scoring after 11 minutes.
Dmitri Nazarov’s equaliser in the 32nd minute gave Italy a fright but goals from Stephan El Shaarawy (43) and Matteo Darmian (65) made sure of the win.
Badavi Huseynov’s dismissal two minutes from time capped a bad night for Azerbaijan but Italy preserved their advantage over Norway, who made it three wins on the trot with a 2-0 win at home to Malta.
However, Norway have more work to do if they are to join Italy in France next year as they need at least a point from their final match against the Azzurri on Tuesday if they are to finish ahead of Croatia.
Last night, the Croatians kept alive their hopes of securing direct qualification after overwhelming Bulgaria 3-0.
Ivan Perisic, Ivan Rakitic and Nikola Kalinic grabbed the goals that handed all the points to the Croatians ahead of their trip to Malta.
Holland kept their play-off hopes alive and kicking in Group A with a 2-1 victory in Kazakhstan.
Georginio Wijnaldum and Wesley Sneijder were the scorers as Oranje bounced back from two successive defeats.
Islambek Kuat’s reply came too late for Kazakhstan, who have yet to win in the group.
The Dutch are currently two points behind third-placed Turkey who strengthened their grip on a play-off spot when they beat the Czech Republic 2-0 in Prague.
A Selcuk Inan put the Turks ahead from the penalty spot on 62 minutes before Hakan Calhanoglu added a second goal ten minutes from time.
Iceland have already qualified for next summer’s tournament but their hopes of finishing top of Group A were hit by a 2-2 draw at home to Latvia.
Iceland held
The island nation appeared to be on course for an easy win following first-half goals from Kolbeinn Sigthorsson and Gylfi Sigurdsson, but Latvia battled back after the break to rescue a draw with Aleksandrs Cauna and Valerijs Sabala on target.
Belgium secured their Euro ticket in comfortable fashion in front of a cheerful crowd of Belgian fans.
The visitors put pressure on the Andorran defence from the start, with Radja Nainggolan opening the score in the 19th minute. Kevin De Bruyne made it 2-0 before the end of the first half with a beautiful 20 metres free-kick.
The hosts clawed back a rare goal after the break when Ildefons Lima converted a penalty conceded by Jan Vertonghen who had lost Andorra‘s Victor Moreira and could only stop him with an inclement nudge.
Belgium wrapped up the points and their place in France with a penalty from Eden Hazard and Laurent Depoitre scoring on his debut.
Wales ended a 57-year wait to qualify for a major tournament despite last night’s defeat in Bosnia which kept alive the Balkan nation’s hopes of joining them at the Euro 2016.
The result left the Welsh second in Group B on 18 points from nine games, two behind Belgium who also qualified, and four ahead of third-placed Bosnia.
Substitute Milan Djuric, who replaced winger Edin Visca on the hour, fired Bosnia ahead in the 71st minute and striker Vedad Ibisevic sealed the win in the 90th.
Summaries
Group A
Iceland 2
Sigthorsson 5; Sigurdsson 27;
Latvia 2
Cauna 49; Sabala 68;
Kazakhstan 1
Kuat 90;
Netherlands 2
Wijnaldum 33; Sneijder 50;
Czech Rep. 0
Turkey 2
Inan 62 pen; Calhanoglu 80;
Group B
Andorra 1
Lima 51 pen.;
Belgium 4
Nainggolan 19; De Bruyne 42; Hazard 56 pen.; Depoitre 72;
Missed penalty: Hazard (B) 78.
Bosnia 2
Djuric 71; Ibisevic 89;
Wales 0
Israel 1
Bitton 76;
Cyprus 2
Junior 58; Demetriou 80;
Group H
Azerbaijan 1
Nazarov 31;
Italy 3
Eder 11; El Shaarawy 43; Darmian 65;
Red card: Huseynov (A) 87.
Norway 2
Tettey 19; Soderlund 52;
Malta 0
Croatia 3
Bulgaria 0
Perisic 2; Rakitic 42; Kalinic 81;
Red card: Cop (C) 89.
Group A
Tuesday
Latvia vs Kazakhstan - 20.45
Netherlands vs Czech Rep. - 20.45
Turkey vs Iceland - 20.45
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Iceland | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 5 | 20 |
| Czech Rep. | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 12 | 19 |
| Turkey | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 9 | 15 |
| Netherlands | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 11 | 13 |
| Latvia | 9 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 5 |
| Kazakhstan | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 18 | 2 |
Group B
Tuesday
Belgium vs Israel - 20.45
Cyprus vs Bosnia - 20.45
Wales vs Andorra - 20.45
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Belgium | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 4 | 20 |
| Wales | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 18 |
| Bosnia | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 14 |
| Israel | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 11 | 13 |
| Cyprus | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 14 | 12 |
| Andorra | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 34 | 0 |
Group C
Playing tomorrow
Belarus vs Macedonia - 20.45
Luxembourg vs Slovakia - 20.45
Ukraine vs Spain - 20.45
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Spain | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 3 | 24 |
| Slovakia | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 19 |
| Ukraine | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 3 | 19 |
| Belarus | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 10 |
| Luxembourg | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 23 | 4 |
| Macedonia | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 18 | 3 |
Group D
Playing today
Germany vs Georgia - 20.45
Gibraltar vs Scotland - 20.45
Poland vs Ireland - 20.45
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Germany | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 8 | 19 |
| Poland | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 31 | 9 | 18 |
| Ireland | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 5 | 18 |
| Scotland | 9 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 12 | 12 |
| Georgia | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 9 |
| Gibraltar | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 50 | 0 |
Group E
Playing tomorrow
Estonia vs Switzerland - 20.45
Lithuania vs England - 20.45
San Marino vs Slovenia - 20.45
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| England | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 3 | 27 |
| Switzerland | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 8 | 18 |
| Slovenia | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 11 | 13 |
| Estonia | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 10 |
| Lithuania | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 10 |
| San Marino | 9 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 34 | 1 |
Group F
Playing today
Faroe Islands vs Romania - 18.00
Finland vs Northern Ireland - 18.00
Greece vs Hungary - 18.00
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| N. Ireland | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 7 | 20 |
| Romania | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 17 |
| Hungary | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 16 |
| Finland | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 11 |
| F. Islands | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 6 |
| Greece | 9 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 3 |
Group G
Playing tomorrow
Austria vs Liechtenstein - 18.00
Russia vs Montenegro - 18.00
Sweden vs Moldova - 18.00
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Austria | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 5 | 25 |
| Russia | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 5 | 17 |
| Sweden | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 9 | 15 |
| Montenegro | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 11 | 11 |
| Liechtenstein | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 23 | 5 |
| Moldova | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 14 | 2 |
Group H
Tuesday
Bulgaria vs Azerbaijan - 20.45
Italy vs Norway - 20.45
Malta vs Croatia - 20.45
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Italy | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 21 |
| Norway | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 19 |
| Croatia (-1) | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 5 | 17 |
| Bulgaria | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 8 |
| Azerbaijan | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 6 |
| Malta | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 15 | 2 |
Group I
Playing today
Armenia vs Albania - 18.00
Serbia vs Portugal - 18.00
International friendly
Denmark vs France - 20.45
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Portugal | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 18 |
| Denmark | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 12 |
| Albania | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 11 |
| Serbia (-3) | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 4 |
| Armenia | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 2 |