Wales have qualified for the 2016 European Championships despite their 2-0 loss to Bosnia & Herzegovina in Sarajevo, thanks to Cyprus' surprise 2-1 victory over Israel.
It is the first time that Wales have qualified for a major tournament since 1958 and many were quick to pay tribute to former boss Gary Speed, who tragically died in 2011.
He's smiling down on our nation ðŸ‘ðŸ»well done Wales ! pic.twitter.com/F3YLHZtyDy
— Robbie Savage (@RobbieSavage8) October 10, 2015
Goals from Milan Djurcic and Vedad Ibisevic weren't enough to spoil the party as Cyprus' late victory over Israel means that they can't be caught with a single game remaining. Those results could have an impact on Ireland's route to France, with Bosnia now overtaking Israel in third with a game to play, it looks like it will be the eastern European's who will finish third in that group.
Elsewhere in Group A, Turkey claimed a 2-0 victory over the already qualified Czech Republic to give themselves every chance of finishing third ahead of the Netherlands, who claimed a 2-1 victory away at Kazakhstan. Turkey are ahead of the Oranje by two points and they will host Iceland while the Netherlands host the Czech Republic.
The other result in that group saw already qualified Iceland draw 2-2 with Latvia.
In Group C as Spain confirmed top spot with a 4-0 victory over Luxembourg. Doubles from Santi Cazorla and Francisco Alcacer dismissed the minnows.
Paco Alcácer: Has scored 6 goals in his last 8 appearances for Spain #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/ZQ03HXc9VR
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) October 9, 2015
The battle for 2nd and 3rd place in Group C also took an interesting turn as Slovakia slipped up at home to Belarus, a Stanislav Dragun finish the difference at the end of the 90. Ukraine took full advantage of the slip-up as they defeated FYR Macedonia 2-0 away from home, thanks to goals from Yevhen Seleznyov and Artem Kravets.
Those results leaves Slovakia and Ukraine tied on 19 points, with the Slovaks ahead due to the head-to-head results. It seems that it will be Ukraine who finish third, as they host Spain and Slovakia play Luxembourg.
Italy claimed their spot in next summers tournament with a 3-1 victory over Azerbaijan, while Norway defeated Malta 2-0 and Croatia saw off Bulgaria 3-0 at home. Two points separate 2nd and 3rd placed Norway and Croatia, with the Norwegians travelling to Italy for their final game and Croatia playing Malta. From a seedings point of view, it would be preferable to see Norway slip into the play-off spot.
It could all still change however, as there are still another round of fixtures to decide who qualifies automatically and who will go into the play-off draw. We will know where we stand after Sunday's game with Poland.
