Euro 2016 round-up: Wales must wait while Turkey pile on the Netherlands’ woes

The unbeaten Welsh remain top of Group B despite being held 0-0 but the Netherlands go closer to elimination.

Chris Coleman, the Wales manager, makes late attempts to get Gareth Bale and his teammates find an elusive goal at Cardiff City Stadium. Stu Forster / Getty Images

A victory over Israel on Sunday would have guaranteed Wales an automatic spot at next year’s European Championship, but the match finished 0-0 at Cardiff City Stadium.

The unbeaten Welsh remain top of Group B and will still qualify with two games to spare if second-place Belgium fails to beat Cyprus away later Sunday. Otherwise, a draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina away or last-place Andorra at home will see Wales reach a first major tournament since the 1958 World Cup.

“We wanted to get it done and dusted today,” Wales captain Ashley Williams said. “But we have two more games and it’s still on us.”

Except for one late shot that was saved, Real Madrid star Gareth Bale was kept quiet by a defensively minded Israel, which is third in the group.

The top two qualify and third place guarantees at least a playoff berth.

For a country that has squandered a number of great chances to end its wait for a major tournament – notably in 1985, 1993 and 2003 – this will go down as another missed opportunity for Wales with the frustration evident at fulltime.

There was almost late drama when Wales substitute Simon Church headed the ball into the net with seconds left in stoppage time, but it was ruled out for offside.

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Turkey leapfrogged Holland into third place in Group A of the Euro 2016 Qualifiers, as Arda Turan inspired them towards a 3-0 win at Konyan.

In what was a must-win game for the hosts, Barcelona man Arda was the architect for Turkey’s first goal, finished off by former Netherlands youth international Oguzhan Ozyakup, and then found the back of the net himself.

Those two goals in the first half put the Netherlands under extreme pressure, and Burak Yilmaz slotted in a third goal on 85 minutes as Fatih Terim’s side took a big step towards achieving either a play-off place or a final automatic spot.

Arda, in fact, contributed less than an hour’s work on the pitch, but eventually that was all Turkey needed to set them on their way, and the Netherlands on a path towards elimination.

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