Iceland in huge upset versus Netherlands

Sigurdsson helps Iceland take historic Dutch scalp

Iceland enjoyed one of the most famous victories in their history as a Gylfi Sigurdsson double inspired the hosts to a first win against the Netherlands in Reykjavik.

Already on their best start to a qualifying campaign after opening with two Group A victories, Lars Lagerbäck's side had nothing to fear against the Dutch who sat three points behind them after two games. On 16 minutes Iceland were handed the chance to go ahead as Stefan de Vrij tripped Birkir Bjarnason in the area and Sigurdsson calmly stroked the resulting penalty to Jasper Cillessen's left.

The visitors did not panic and controlled possession as they tried to pick holes in the Icelandic defence. Robin van Persie did break through but was repelled by a good stop from Hannes Halldórsson before Arjen Robben headed a great opportunity over the bar from just five metres.

Having failed to find the net Guus Hiddink's men were punished further as a corner from the right could not be dealt with and it bounced up for Sigurdsson to rifle into the roof of the net from ten metres, showing outstanding technique to keep the effort under the crossbar.

The second half lacked the drama of the first as Iceland shored things up at the back and refused to give the Oranje the chance to get behind them. They even had the chance of a third at the other end, but Jón Dadi Bödvarsson could not find the target when ideally placed. The Nordic team nevertheless claimed a historic win which puts them level on points with the Czech Republic at the head of Group A, six points in front of the third-placed Netherlands.

Diego Costa scored his first international goal as Spain bounce back to beat Luxembourg 4-0

Spain bounce back with Luxembourg success

Spain bounced back from the disappointment of losing their first qualifying game in eight years with a convincing win away at Luxembourg in Group C.

Vicente del Bosque made four changes following Spain's defeat by Slovakia and goals from David Silva, Paco Alcácer, Diego Costa and Juan Bernat were enough for the youthful-looking European champions, who were captained for the first time by midfielder Andrés Iniesta.

The opening minutes set the tone for the rest of the match, with Spain dominating possession and Luxembourg intent on soaking up pressure. Goalkeeper Jonathan Joubert twice denied Costa early on as the visitors looked for the breakthrough, which eventually came through Silva, who fired an unstoppable drive into the top corner after 27 minutes from just outside the box.

The goal brought a sense of relief for Spain, who then stepped up a gear and played with more freedom. Costa was again involved shortly after, latching onto a long ball before miscuing his shot when one-on-one with Joubert. Strike partner Alcácer endured no such problems, though, firing in Silva's cutback five minutes from half-time to double the lead and give the forward three goals in three competitive games for La Roja.

The second half followed a similar pattern to that of the first, with Spain on the front foot, and 20 minutes from time Costa was eventually able to score his first international goal after a scramble in the box following a Koke free-kick. Juan Bernat, making his debut after coming on as a second-half substitute, rounded off the scoring on the counterattack with three minutes to go.

Slovakia stops Spain 2-1

Slovakia's Stoch strikes late to end Spain run

A late goal from Slovakia substitute Miroslav Stoch ended Spain's eight-year, 36-match unbeaten run in qualifying and secured a famous Group C win.

Not since a 2-0 reverse in Sweden in October 2006 had Spain lost a qualifying fixture in either the UEFA European Championship or the FIFA World Cup, and it looked like that fate had been avoided when substitute Paco Alcácer cancelled out Juraj Kucka's first-half effort with eight minutes left. Five minutes later, however, Slovakia's own replacement Stoch converted a Michal Ďuriš cross to clinch a memorable Slovak victory.

The first half was the epitome of UEFA European Championship qualifying. Slovakia weathered shrewd Spanish play, aiming to first avoid conceding before taking the battle to the European champions. Iker Casillas's early save, remarkable for his instant reaction from Róbert Mak's point-blank volley, made it seem it might be his night – an impression shattered pretty promptly.

Although Diego Costa's header shaved the post and Andrés Iniesta shot narrowly past the other side of Matúš Kozáčik's goal, Slovakia suddenly led. After a Sergio Busquets foul, Vladimír Weiss tapped the free-kick to Juraj Kucka whose strike swerved beyond Casillas with the keeper moving right and the ball going left. 

Spain moved up a gear but Slovakia's hard work gave them the edge, although before the interval they needed two fine Kozáčik stops, first from Costa's header then from Busquets's volley, to stay in front.

After half-time the home custodian did equally brilliantly to divert good shots from Costa and Cesc Fàbregas before repelling Costa again after the striker had broken through. Kozáčik was finally beaten eight minutes from time, Jordi Alba's cross to Alcácer proving deadly, and it appeared Spain would escape with a point.

Slovakia, and Stoch, thought differently. Substitute Ďuriš played a lovely one-two with Marek Hamšík on the right before curling an ideal ball to the back post where Stoch nodded in to crown a remarkable evening in Zilina.