Reykjavik, Iceland (SportsNetwork.com) - Gylfi Sigurdsson scored a pair of first-half goals to lead Iceland to a surprising 2-0 home win over the Netherlands in Euro 2016 qualifying on Monday.
The Dutch have struggled thus far in Group A, losing their opening match to the Czech Republic before rallying to beat Kazakhstan this past Friday.
And things didn't improve for the Oranje on Monday as Sigurdsson converted a penalty kick in the 10th minute and scored again a few minutes before halftime to help the hosts to their third win in as many games.
The result puts Iceland atop the group along with the Czech Republic, which downed Kazakhstan 4-2 on Monday, while the Dutch sit six points adrift of the leaders.
Iceland got off to a great start just 10 minutes into the match when Birkir Bjarnason worked his way into the penalty area on the left and was tripped by Dutch defender Stefan de Vrij. Sigurdsson then stepped to the spot and drilled the ball inside the right post, beyond the reach of goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen.
Arjen Robben had a good chance to level the contest in the 29th minute when he turned a header just past the left post from a dangerous position, and the visitors found themselves down 2-0 in the 42nd.
Emil Hallfredsson drove a corner kick into the middle of the penalty area, and Sigurdsson was quick to pounce on the loose ball, lashing it into the roof of the net from eight yards.
Iceland was happy to sit back and defend in the second half, and the hosts did a good job of soaking up the pressure, leaving goalkeeper Hannes Thor Halldorsson without too much work.
The other match in Group A saw Latvia and Turkey play out a 1-1 draw as Latvia's Valerijs Sabala converted a penalty kick in the 54th minute, seven minutes after Bilal Kisa scored for Turkey.
Belgium was held to a 1-1 draw at Bosnia-Herzegovina in Group B as Edin Dzeko fired the Bosnians in front in the 28th minute, only for Radja Nainggolan to equalize in the 51st on a soft goal that should have been saved by Bosnia goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
Wales sits atop Group B following a 2-1 win over Cyprus as the Welsh scored twice in the opening 23 minutes through David Cotterill and Hal Robson-Kanu before holding on for three points.
Israel is second after claiming a 4-1 win at Andorra thanks to a hat trick from Omer Damari.
Croatia and Italy both remained perfect in Group H with wins against Azerbaijan and Malta respectively.
Ivan Perisic scored twice in the first half as Croatia rolled, 6-0, while Italy had a much tougher time at Malta, winning 1-0 on a 24th-minute goal from Graziano Pelle.
The other game in the group saw Norway win for the second time in three games thanks to a 71st minute goal from Havard Nielsen, giving his team a 2-1 win over Bulgaria.
