Euro 2016 qualifiers – as it happened | Nick Ames

Ok, that’ll do for tonight. Now go out and play. Thanks for your company and be sure not to be a stranger over the next few days, as there’ll be some great coverage of the rest of the Week Of Football in these here parts. ‘Night.

So that wraps that up. Anything you saw in any of the more “fringe” games that might be worthy of comment?

In the end, the story of the night might have been that blink-and-you’d-miss-it Chiellini salvo. Nearly a very embarrassing night for Italy, who you might remember were held at home by Armenia in a World Cup qualifier and similarly detained by Luxembourg in the friendly before Brazil 2014. Not quite that outcome tonight, though, as the Juventus man bagged all three – one of them for the Azerbaijanis.

90+4 min: That, by the way, was a really top-drawer save by Begovic.

90+3 min: Bale nearly wins it! Bale is all on his own, nobody to help him in the Bosnian half, rakes in a wonderful low strike which Begovic fingertips wide brilliantly! Then Robson Kanu makes a hash of his corner right in front of goal! They really could have taken it here.

90+2 min: We’re in the second of four added minutes in Cardiff.

GOAL! LATVIA 0-3 ICELAND!

Rurik Gislason puts the....errr....icing on this one at the end.

GOALS! ITALY 2-1 AZERBAIJAN!

Wow – firstly, Chiellini scores an own goal to score a shock leveller for the Azerbaijanis. Then, he pops up minutes later to score his third of the game! All in a night’s work for the defender.

88 min: Robson-Kanu’s shot is deflected just wide! Then Bale’s corner is taken just away from the waiting Ashley Williams by Lulic. Wales have ridden their luck at times and have had to defend, but they have always carried a threat here.

DUTCH PENALTY...AND A GOAL! 3-1!

That’s very much that. Van Persie converts to Mokin’s right and Kazakhstan, their resistance very brave tonight, are finished. The Dutch have not played well though.

87 min: Strong run by Bale down the right though, goes down and there are big calls for a penalty, but the referee isn’t up for it.

86 min: Chris Coleman makes some odd cutty-throaty gestures. The Bosnian fans are dancing a Poznan.

GOAL! LATVIA 0-2 ICELAND!

Another goal from a Cardiff player. Goals everywhere tonight except for – wait for it – Cardiff. Aron Gunnarson, on 77, has surely won it there.

83 min: Now Jonny Williams does come off, and he deserves the rest to be fair – namesake George of Fulham is on. Izet Hajrovic is on for Bosnia too, replacing Ibisevic.

82 min: And now so close from another Pjanic free-kick! A marvellous Hennesey save under the crossbar. Then Bale, at the other end, drills a low right-footer to Begovic.

GOAL! NETHERLANDS 2-1 KAZAKHSTAN!

And now the Dutch have their winner. Robben’s cross is headed out to Afellay, whose left-footed shot is speculative but takes a big deflection and wrong-foots Mokin. Harsh, but enough. Eight to play.

80 min: And the chance of the match in Cardiff! Ashley Williams has the most free of headers at the back post from a Bale free-kick, but gets it all wrong and it’s well over! The Begovic is out smartly to deny Jonny. Wales rallying.

80 min: Something I missed in Holland-Kazakhstan (with thanks to a couple of you and Uefa.com) – the Kazakhs are now down to 10 men, red card for Dzolchiev. They’re hanging on like crazy.

77 min: Just a bit more ragged from the Bosnians now, and Wales aren’t really breaking their depleted back four down either. This one is, as things stand, petering out towards a mutually-acceptable draw.

76 min: Save from Mokin! Robben cuts in yet again but eschews the blast and chips, Sneijder-like in Huntelaar, who controls, turns and sees a shot saved by the ‘keeper’s legs. Attack vs defence here.

74 min: All of these games, apart from Malta 0-3 Norway, are very well poised at the moment.

73 min: From Paul Done – “I’m glad to see that Immobile survived that near-fatal touch of the boots. He was screaming like a man on fire, so I can only surmise that the players from the Land of Fire also have the Touch of Fire.”

Ah, I’ve not got that one on. How’s it looking?

73 min: Holland are yet to find the second goal that you fancied them for, but Robben has a free kick right on the edge of the area, a little to the right. BANG! It’s off the crossbar! Fine effort.

GOAL! CYPRUS 1-2 ISRAEL!

Some late interest in this one? Constantinos Makridis has just scored for the home side and there are still 23 minutes to play.

GOAL! BELGIUM 6-0 ANDORRA!

Mertens again on 68.

GOAL! LATVIA 0-1 ICELAND!

And that’s the kind of outcome Iceland will want if they’re to make their first major tournament (which I’d back them to do....). It’s Swansea’s Gylfi Sigurdsson in the 66th minute.

69 min: Chester handballs Ibisevic’s dink through towards Dzeko, and it’s a free kick 25 yards out. Pjanic, hands on hips, means business. One step, two, three....and just wide of a flailing Hennessey’s right post! Fine effort.

GOAL! BELGIUM 5-0 ANDORRA!

Yeah, why not? Dries Mertens (65).

65 min: Bale gets away down the left, fed by the recoverd Williams, and whips in a delicious ball just ahead of Church. The striker then comes off for Robson-Kanu, so Williams is clearly ok. There is still a corner to be taken, which Chester heads over.

GOAL! TURKEY 1-2 CZECH REPUBLIC!

And that’s a big one in Istanbul! Borek Dockal in the 58th minute for the visitors!

GOAL! BELGIUM 4-0 ANDORRA!

It’s Divock Origi, of Liverpool-in-waiting, in the 59th.

63 min: Well would you look at that, Williams is back on. Hal Robson-Kanu had been readied but no, the youngster is made of very tough stuff. It had seemed like game over. The Bale takes a corner and Ledley heads towards goal, but it’s booted well clear.

61 min: Not good in Cardiff for Wales as Jonny Williams, who has been the subject of constant attention, needs extensive treatment and is helped very awkwardly to his feet. Not sure we’ll see loads more of him. Bad news for him, Wales, Palace and Ipswich.

GOAL! NETHERLANDS 1-1 KAZAKHSTAN!

But he’s beaten now as Huntelaar, who may be coming back from an offside position, guides a lovely header past him from 12 yards in the 62nd minute. They’ll do well to hold out now...

60 min: Kazakhstan’s goalkeeper, Mokin, is not the most imposing but is coming for absolutely everything and catching, fisting.....and not yet flapping, really. He’s right on the edge but it’s an admirable policy at the moment.

57 min: Now Medunjanin occupies what we shall dub the Pjanic Pocket, and hits a left-footer that Hennessey has to shovel away to his right. Bosnia have got this, at the moment.

In Amsterdam, close from Van Persie! He hammers across goal when he should do better and gets a glare from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who is on for Nigel de Jong in a move that should tell you how attack-minded the Dutch are going to be in the next half-hour.

55 min: “I noticed the Wales team includes Ledley and King - I was wondering if the great Spurs defender finally broke into two pieces, and each half was able to make it into the Wales team?”

I’d always trusted people never to make that joke.

GOAL! MALTA 0-3 NORWAY!

Amid all that, Blackburn’s King has his second on 49 minutes. Norway are another improving team.

54 min:...which Ibisevic keeps alive really well, finding Susic – whose cross loops off a defender’s head to Dzeko. Dzeko stands his ground and wins a really good header, down across Hennessey, who has to save very well indeed!

53 min: Bosnia really pressing. Taylor should leave a Susic cross but heads straight to Pjanic, who drives another ball in and Ashley Williams has to clear hurriedly. They keep the ball and win a corner...

51 min: End-to-end now in Wales as Hennessey is out to block from Medunjanin after a left-sided cross before Jonny Williams, bursting forwards with men to the left and right, shoots and sees it blocked. Then Dzeko has space to drive forward and his first effort is saved.

50 min: And now Bale has one, on the other side of the pitch but a bit further out, in Cardiff. It’s an implausible, silly lash over, with about five players having come forward for the cross.

Meanwhile Kazakhstan’s confidence is underlined as their number four, Vorotnikov, overhead kicks not too far wide.

49 min: Lens draws a foul just outside the box and Sneijder has the free-kick, out left. But it’s straight down Mokin’s throat.

From Paul Morris – an important correction: “It’s not the same Tal Ben Haim that played for Pompey, the Tal Ben Haim who scored is a forward that plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv, although the former Pompey player is also playing.”

I’d *just* noticed that, so thanks for beating me to it.

Peep! They’re underway again in Amsterdam though, and will soon be in Cardiff too.

I’ve been checking out Kazakhstan’s form. They’ve drawn with Belgium a couple of times and beat Serbia once. They also come into this one in reasonable nick having beaten Tajikistan 2-1 and shellacked Kyrgyzstan 7-1 in friendlies before drawing with Latvia. But there is no result in their history – not one – that would come close to winning this. Or even drawing it really.

They keep the Dutch waiting on the pitch for the start of the second half. The gamesmanship has begun.

Email from Charles Antaki: “I turned on the Five Live Extra radio commentary to hear what was going on in the Wales match. Mistake. I didn’t recognise the man they have commentating, but he, and his summariser, seem to be watching eleven people falling down a lift shaft - hysteria is only kept at bay by the thought that it’s a long way down. I confess I couldn’t take the intensity. Back to your measured words.”

Thank goodness they’re not Dutch.

GOAL! CYPRUS 0-2 ISRAEL!

Portsmouth legend (and Charlton current) Tal Ben Haim doubles it just before the whistle!

GOAL! ITALY 1-0 AZERBAIJAN!

It’s taken them a while but, right on half-time, Giorgio Chiellini has broken the deadlock for the Azzurri.

HALF-TIME: WALES 0-0 BOSNIA

Just before the break, Dzeko really should have headed Bosnia into the lead from a Pjanic cross. Wales started very well but Bosnia, away specialists, really grew into that and controlled the final 15 minutes or more – Coleman’s side were hanging on a bit towards the end there.

HALF-TIME: NETHERLANDS 0-1 KAZAKHSTAN

Surely, surely not....?

44 min: If you’d back anyone at the moment you’d back Bosnia, and Ibisevic wants a penalty when he goes down in the box under Davies’ attentions. Never, ever. They keep the ball though and Tino-Sven Susic very nearly gets a close-range shot away, blocked out by Chester.

GOAL! CYPRUS 0-1 ISRAEL!

Cyprus have been down as an emerging force but they’re behind here to another improving team – Omer Damari in the 38th minute.

42 min: Besic plays the worst ball of this or probably any other night out for a goal kick. Bit stalematey in Cardiff at the moment and Bale has a bit of a knock, which will need keeping an eye on. It occurs that a draw wouldn’t be disastrous for either party here.

41 min: A chance for the Dutch though as Van der Wiel combines with Robben and flashes a low ball just beyond Van Persie. It does find Lens just beyond the back stick though, and he should do a bit better than lash wide.

GOAL! BELGIUM 3-0 ANDORRA!

Nacer Chadli (37). This might be fun again if they can add a few more.

39 min: Arjen Robben is cutting inside a lot for Holland, and trying to shoot a lot. Seen this somewhere before. He’s not getting many away though. It’s all a credit to Kazakhstan and tells that the Dutch haven’t had too many ideas of late.

GOAL! BULGARIA 0-1 CROATIA!

This one means a bit more. Ivica Olic – the wonderful, evergreen Ivica Olic – has just scored a big 36th minute opener for the Croatians!

GOAL! BELGIUM 2-0 ANDORRA!

Hell with it, we’ll keep the exclamation marks. Another from De Bruyne on 34.

35 min: Pjanic in on Williams again! Foolish from the Bosnian, and it was down to some lovely play by Williams, who darted between him and Medunjanin. One more and Bosnia’s playmaker will be off.

34 min: Pjanic is booked for a very late lunge at Jonny Williams, who does have a habit of drawing fouls. This one shoved him right over the touchline and he needs some treatment. Should be ok. Walks gingerly, but not that happily, back onto the pitch.

GOAL! BELGIUM 1-0 ANDORRA!

Kevin de Bruyne spoils the fun with a 31st-minute penalty.

32 min: A Bosnian corner from the left, taken by Pjanic. It’s sharp and accurate, not unlike Kazakhstan’s actually, and Ibisevic meets it well too. But it’s straight at a slightly grateful Hennessey.

31 min: JR writes from Illinois –

“I don’t understand people who disparage the international weeks. I maintain they are hella bangin’.”

Well, yes.

“Unfortunately the Wales match is not available here so I’ve got NED-KAZ and TUR-CZE. Good stuff. Though the Netherlands may be losing on the scoreboard at the moment RVP is single-handedly dominating Kazakhstan in snot rockets. I believe it is 7-0 currently.”

If you could keep counting those for us, I’d be eternally grateful.

31 min: Kazakhstan are really digging in against the Dutch; they’ve had a couple of decent-ish counters down the flanks now and look very compact in the middle. Might be a night for....gasp....the cross to do the business.

GOAL! MALTA 0-2 NORWAY!

That might be that already, as Joshua King – another Championship player, for Blackburn – makes it two in the 26th.

27 min: Bosnia wresting a bit of control now and Pjanic is fed by Besic in a similarly advantageous bubble of oxygen to before. Another swish of the right, foot, another dive from Hennessey, but it’s wide this time.

GOAL! MALTA 0-1 NORWAY!

It’s Mats Moller Daehli after 22 minutes. He, of course, usually calls the Cardiff City Stadium home.

25 min: Bosnia, as is perhaps one of their weaker points, are finding it hard to attack with much speed against Wales and the hosts get back behind the ball quickly to thwart a move led by Medunjanin. Then King blocks from the latter after a slightly more penetrating move.

Elsewhere, no goals bar the ones we’ve advised you of. Belgium haven’t scored in their first 23 minutes at home to Andorra so we’ll think of something suitably wry if that continues.

23 min: Van Persie denied well by the goalkeeper, Mokin. You’d think a goal is a matter of time despite the visitors’ bolt from the blue, but....

21 min: It’s going to be a long, long night for the Kazakhstan defence now. Van Persie very nearly diverts a clipped Sneijder ball over the ‘keeper in a move we’ve seen a few times before.

In Cardiff, Gunter – again – lifts a left-footed volley over Begovic’s bar.

GOAL! TURKEY 1-1 CZECH REPUBLIC! Not quite as seismic but Tomas Sivok has equalised for the Czechs in the 15th minute. Game on there.

17 min: My goodness! Kazakhstan had barely ventured inside the Dutch half, but they do it for the first time and win a corner. It’s a really good, whipped, outswinging delivery from the right but still, Renat Abdulin probably should not be getting such a firm head on it from there. He does, and it’s a bullet in off the bar! Euro 2016: the gift that keeps on giving!

GOAL! NETHERLANDS 0-1 KAZAKHSTAN!

15 min: “The only 3G is mobile phone reception here,” guffaws the commentator on the Wales game, a reference to the Andorra controversy of last month. Nonsense, I’ve never had 3G in a football stadium.

13 min: That would have been an incredible goal by Bale, who runs onto a long Ben Davies ball, watches the ball over his shoulder and, first time, tries to guide the ball over Begovic from the edge of the area. He manages to, but it also drops wide of the near post.

13 min: Robin van Persie has had a goal disallowed for the Netherlands, by the way, and it looked pretty tight.

11 min: Now Bosnia show their hand for the first time in Cardiff and a quick free kick finds the very dangerous Pjanic in the kind of pocket he can’t be allowed to occupy. A 20-yard shot, a ricochet off Ashley Williams and a very smart save by Wayne Hennessey down to his right.

GOAL! TURKEY 1-0 CZECH REPUBLIC! It’s exactly the start the Turks wanted, and something that keeps this group pretty interesting early on, as Umut Bulut puts them ahead in the eighth minute.

7 min: Wales really have started well and it’s Gunter getting forward again, crossing excellently for Bale, who looks set to convert at the near post before Sunjic diverts behind. Ashley Williams heads over from Jonny’s corner.

6 min: Gregory van der Wiel, judging by his slash high and wide, doesn’t rate this possession gubbins very highly.

Wales win a corner in Cardiff and Jonny Williams, sweetness and light though he is, can’t beat the first man.

4 min: An email! On a Friday night? From Peter Oh: “Clockwatch Extra?! With zesty U21 action at Wolves’ ground and Netherlands about to peel open the Kazakh defence, it’s a ClockwatchOrange!!!”

Heavens, I can see why they put me on this one now. The Dutch themselves are yet to do much peeling but they have had 100% of the ball.

(Not literally. That’s not a possession stat)

2 min: A nice start from Wales at the Cardiff City Stadium, Chris Gunter getting to the byline but not quite winning a corner. They’ll know that a win here would put them in a really good position – and six points ahead of Bosnia, who they’ll want to be having a real shot at.

Peep! They’re off! Well the Dutch are. And Wales, currently in a huddle, will kick us off against Bosnia shortly.

The teams are out across Europe. Bosnia are represented by something between 2,000 and 3,000 fans in Cardiff – their away support is phenomenal wherever they go, if you didn’t know – so plenty of blue and white scarves being held aloft there. As the camera pans along their players and takes in the likes of Begovic, Pjanic, Misimovic and Ibisevic, you remember that – even if they’ve a few problems at the moment – they can turn it on to beat anybody.

The Dutch, meanwhile, have sung their anthem and sent a group of child mascots scurrying down the tunnel, which Arjen Robben seemed to find quite funny. Daley Blind starts at left-back for them, Manchester United fans.

And Turkey v Czech Republic should be a lot of fun, too. Bit of a throwback to last decade in some ways. They are in probably the toughest group – the one with Holland and exciting arrivistes Iceland, who whacked the Turks 3-0 last time out. Big response needed in Istanbul from Fatih Terim and company.

England Under-21s have beaten Croatia 2-1. Well done them, but it’s still wide open for the second leg.

Another nice game tonight is Bulgaria v Croatia. No, wait, it is. Both have three points from their one game played and, while Croatia should be qualifying alongside Italy in an automatic spot, Bulgaria will feel they have a good chance for Euro 2016, with Norway their main rivals for third. They have six players from the excellent Ludogorets team that ran both Liverpool and Real Madrid so close in the Champions League recently. It would be good to see them do something this time, and a Balkan derby is no bad place to make a statement.

England U21s are ahead at Molineux! A late penalty by West Brom’s Saido Berahino! At Wolves’ stadium! I know!

Netherlands v Kazakhstan teamsheet

Somebody’s At The Game then. Van Persie, Sneijder and Robben all start in a trio that seems as old as time itself. The Dutch, you’ll recall, lost 2-1 to Czech Republic in their first game but probably don’t need to go for this at all, really, despite that so need to go for this.

Getting a chance from the start today for Wales is Jonny Williams, a little joy of a player who is on loan for a second time at Ipswich from Crystal Palace. Neil Warnock is keen for him to play more in order to prep him for the top flight and I’d say, totally impartially, that it’s probably best he stays at Portman Road for the season. He turned 21 yesterday so this is a good gift for him. Looking at that Wales team, you’d fancy that he and Gareth Bale will buzz around Simon Church, whose career has stalled perplexingly with his only real football coming for Wales nowadays. Centre-forward would be an easier position for Coleman to fill if Sam Vokes was fit.

Ominous?

I’m not sure. This is a good chance for Wales even if the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen are missing. Bosnia’s feelgood factor has waned a little since, nearly exactly a year ago, they qualified for the World Cup. They missed a good chance to get through the group in Brazil, proceeded to lose their first Euro 2016 qualifier to Cyprus and seem to be in a bit of bother internally. Lose tonight, and the talk is that coach Safet Susic won’t see Monday night’s match with Belgium. Not from the dugout, anyway.

We’ll call this bit “Clockwatch Extra”.

But not anymore! Harry Kane has equalised! Stooping near-post header from the Spurs man. 1-1 there.

There is other football going on too, and it’s not unimportant if you’re an England – or Croatia – follower. These two Under-21 sides are 56 minutes into their Euro 2015 play-off first leg at Molineux. It’s been pretty open stuff so far but the visitors lead 1-0 through Marko Livaja. They deserve it, I think.

To save a little bit of breath, most of these – written the other day by yours truly and the good man Conrad Leach – are still relevant to today/tomorrow/thereafter.

Good evening! How is Michel’s Week of Clockwatch Football treating you so far (there may actually be a week of Clockwatch, I’ve no idea, I’m done for a few days after this)? I’m told you all had a lot of fun yesterday, and rightly so – Slovakia v Spain was a bit of a belter, with a finale that flew right in the face of what seemed likely after the visitors finally equalised. The watered-down nature of these qualifiers has been spoken of at length both here and elsewhere, but if they keep throwing up results like that then you never know what might be in store. This is a qualifying tournament for the middle man, for the average joe, and perhaps they’ll be extra-motivated to capitalise on any lack of intensity in the big boys.

Talking of which, Wales v Bosnia-Herzegovina steals the show tonight. This, by simple default of the tournament’s expansion, is Wales’ best crack at a major tournament since Paul Bodin did this – and they’ve a decent shout tonight against a listing Bosnia. We’ll be keeping a close eye on events in Holland, Turkey and Cyprus among others, too – I’ll round all that up in a bit. And you know, I’m no fan of the new status quo but evenings like this are still quite exciting aren’t they? Not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love seeing who, how and why the next emerging forces are, how teams are shaping up and developing across the continent, what stories seep out from the Baltic, the Balkans or the Balearics. There is always, always, something for you. In a minute we’ll look at exactly what. Meantime, send in your emails. It’s Friday night: what else is there to do?

Nick will be here from 6.45pm BST. Whilst you wait, here’s what Wales manager Chris Coleman had to say about tonight’s crucial qualifier against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Good to see he’s not putting any unnecessary pressure on his players then …

“They have a great chance to live up to the tag they have been given as the golden generation,” Coleman, the Wales manager, said. “I thought the first Welsh team I played in was the golden generation, with Neville Southall, Mark Hughes, Ian Rush, Dean Saunders, Gary Speed and Ryan Giggs. What a team that was, but we did not do it.

“These boys have also been handed that label and they will live up to it if they do the business. Are they good enough? Yes, I think they are. We are good enough to do something we have never done but time will tell and the proof will be in the pudding.”

For Stuart James’s full preview on the match, click here.