UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group A

The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group A was one of the nine groups to decide which teams would qualify for the UEFA Euro 2016 finals tournament.^[1] Group A consisted of six teams: Netherlands, Czech Republic, Turkey, Latvia, Iceland, and Kazakhstan,^[2] where they played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format.^[3]

Line-up of the Netherlands–Kazakhstan teams prior to the match

The top two teams, the Czech Republic and Iceland, qualified directly for the finals. Turkey's win over Iceland, combined with Kazakhstan's win over Latvia on the final day of matches, also allowed Turkey to qualify directly as the best ranked third-placed team of the qualifiers. As Turkey earned 6 points against Kazakhstan and 2 points against Latvia through their home and away fixtures, and as Kazakhstan's win over Latvia ensured that Latvia finished in last place in the group based on head-to-head record, not Kazakhstan, it then meant that only 2, not 6, of Turkey's total of 18 points earned would not count towards their third-placed ranking (as results against the team finishing in last place in the group were not included when ranking third-placed teams because one group had fewer teams than the others).^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Czech Republic	10	7	1	2	19	14	+5	22	Qualify for final tournament		—	2–1	0–2	2–1	2–1	1–1
2	Iceland	10	6	2	2	17	6	+11	20			2–1	—	3–0	2–0	0–0	2–2
3	Turkey	10	5	3	2	14	9	+5	18			1–2	1–0	—	3–0	3–1	1–1
4	Netherlands	10	4	1	5	17	14	+3	13			2–3	0–1	1–1	—	3–1	6–0
5	Kazakhstan	10	1	2	7	7	18	−11	5[a]			2–4	0–3	0–1	1–2	—	0–0
6	Latvia	10	0	5	5	6	19	−13	5[a]			1–2	0–3	1–1	0–2	0–1	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Notes:

1. Head-to-head points: Kazakhstan 4, Latvia 1.

Matches

The fixtures were released by UEFA the same day as the draw, which was held on 23 February 2014 in Nice.^[9] Times are CET/CEST,^{[note 1]} as listed by UEFA (local times are in parentheses).

9 September 2014 (2014-09-09)

18:00
(22:00 UTC+6)

Kazakhstan	0–0	Latvia
	Report

Astana Arena, Astana

Attendance: 10,200^[10]

Referee: Ivan Kružliak (Slovakia)

9 September 2014 (2014-09-09)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Czech Republic	2–1	Netherlands
Dočkal 22' Pilař 90+1'	Report	De Vrij 55'

Generali Arena, Prague

Attendance: 17,946^[11]

Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)

9 September 2014 (2014-09-09)

20:45
(18:45 UTC±0)

Iceland	3–0	Turkey
Böðvarsson 19' G. Sigurðsson 76' Sigþórsson 77'	Report

Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík

Attendance: 8,811^[12]

Referee: Ivan Bebek (Croatia)

---

10 October 2014 (2014-10-10)

20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)

Latvia	0–3	Iceland
	Report	G. Sigurðsson 66' Gunnarsson 77' Gíslason 90'

Skonto Stadium, Riga

Attendance: 6,354^[13]

Referee: Robert Schörgenhofer (Austria)

10 October 2014 (2014-10-10)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Netherlands	3–1	Kazakhstan
Huntelaar 62' Afellay 82' Van Persie 89' (pen.)	Report	Abdulin 17'

Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam

Attendance: 47,500^[14]

Referee: Matej Jug (Slovenia)

10 October 2014 (2014-10-10)

20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)

Turkey	1–2	Czech Republic
Bulut 8'	Report	Sivok 15' Dočkal 58'

Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul

Attendance: 24,007^[15]

Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)

---

13 October 2014 (2014-10-13)

18:00
(22:00 UTC+6)

Kazakhstan	2–4	Czech Republic
Logvinenko 84', 90+1'	Report	Dočkal 13' Lafata 44' Krejčí 56' Necid 88'

Astana Arena, Astana

Attendance: 13,752^[16]

Referee: Mattias Gestranius (Finland)

13 October 2014 (2014-10-13)

20:45
(18:45 UTC±0)

Iceland	2–0	Netherlands
G. Sigurðsson 10' (pen.), 42'	Report

Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík

Attendance: 9,760^[17]

Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain)

13 October 2014 (2014-10-13)

20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)

Latvia	1–1	Turkey
Šabala 54' (pen.)	Report	Kısa 47'

Skonto Stadium, Riga

Attendance: 6,442^[18]

Referee: Bobby Madden (Scotland)

---

16 November 2014 (2014-11-16)

18:00
(18:00 UTC+1)

Netherlands	6–0	Latvia
Van Persie 6' Robben 35', 82' Huntelaar 42', 89' Bruma 78'	Report

Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam

Attendance: 47,500^[19]

Referee: Liran Liany (Israel)

16 November 2014 (2014-11-16)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+1)

Czech Republic	2–1	Iceland
Kadeřábek 45+1' Böðvarsson 61' (o.g.)	Report	R. Sigurðsson 9'

Doosan Arena, Plzeň

Attendance: 11,533^[20]

Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)

16 November 2014 (2014-11-16)

20:45
(21:45 UTC+2)

Turkey	3–1	Kazakhstan
Yılmaz 26' (pen.), 29' Aziz 83'	Report	Smakov 87' (pen.)

Türk Telekom Arena, Istanbul

Attendance: 27,549^[21]

Referee: Aleksei Eskov (Russia)

---

28 March 2015 (2015-03-28)

16:00
(21:00 UTC+6)

Kazakhstan	0–3	Iceland
	Report	Guðjohnsen 20' B. Bjarnason 32', 90+1'

Astana Arena, Astana

Attendance: 13,182^[22]

Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (Greece)

28 March 2015 (2015-03-28)

18:00
(18:00 UTC+1)

Czech Republic	1–1	Latvia
Pilař 90'	Report	A. Višņakovs 30'

Eden Arena, Prague

Attendance: 13,722^[23]

Referee: Javier Estrada Fernández (Spain)

28 March 2015 (2015-03-28)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+1)

Netherlands	1–1	Turkey
Huntelaar 90+2'	Report	Yılmaz 37'

Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam

Attendance: 49,500^[24]

Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)

---

12 June 2015 (2015-06-12)

18:00
(22:00 UTC+6)

Kazakhstan	0–1	Turkey
	Report	Turan 83'

Central Stadium, Almaty

Attendance: 25,125^[25]

Referee: Michael Oliver (England)

12 June 2015 (2015-06-12)

20:45
(18:45 UTC±0)

Iceland	2–1	Czech Republic
Gunnarsson 60' Sigþórsson 76'	Report	Dočkal 55'

Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík

Attendance: 9,767^[26]

Referee: William Collum (Scotland)

12 June 2015 (2015-06-12)

20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)

Latvia	0–2	Netherlands
	Report	Wijnaldum 67' Narsingh 71'

Skonto Stadium, Riga

Attendance: 8,067^[27]

Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (Norway)

---

3 September 2015 (2015-09-03)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Czech Republic	2–1	Kazakhstan
Škoda 74', 86'	Report	Logvinenko 21'

Doosan Arena, Plzeň

Attendance: 10,572^[28]

Referee: Martin Strömbergsson (Sweden)

3 September 2015 (2015-09-03)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Netherlands	0–1	Iceland
	Report	G. Sigurðsson 51' (pen.)

Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam

Attendance: 50,275^[29]

Referee: Milorad Mažić (Serbia)

3 September 2015 (2015-09-03)

20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)

Turkey	1–1	Latvia
İnan 77'	Report	Šabala 90+1'

Torku Arena, Konya

Attendance: 35,900^[30]

Referee: Stefan Johannesson (Sweden)

---

6 September 2015 (2015-09-06)

18:00
(19:00 UTC+3)

Latvia	1–2	Czech Republic
Zjuzins 73'	Report	Limberský 13' Darida 25'

Skonto Stadium, Riga

Attendance: 7,913^[31]

Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Germany)

6 September 2015 (2015-09-06)

18:00
(19:00 UTC+3)

Turkey	3–0	Netherlands
Özyakup 8' Turan 26' Yılmaz 86'	Report

Torku Arena, Konya

Attendance: 41,007^[32]

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

6 September 2015 (2015-09-06)

20:45
(18:45 UTC±0)

Iceland	0–0	Kazakhstan
	Report

Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík

Attendance: 9,767^[33]

Referee: Yevhen Aranovsky (Ukraine)

---

10 October 2015 (2015-10-10)

18:00
(16:00 UTC±0)

Iceland	2–2	Latvia
Sigþórsson 5' G. Sigurðsson 27'	Report	Cauņa 49' Šabala 68'

Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík

Attendance: 9,767^[34]

Referee: Aleksei Eskov (Russia)

10 October 2015 (2015-10-10)

18:00
(22:00 UTC+6)

Kazakhstan	1–2	Netherlands
Kuat 90+6'	Report	Wijnaldum 33' Sneijder 50'

Astana Arena, Astana

Attendance: 20,716^[35]

Referee: Clément Turpin (France)

10 October 2015 (2015-10-10)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Czech Republic	0–2	Turkey
	Report	İnan 62' (pen.) Çalhanoğlu 79'

Generali Arena, Prague

Attendance: 17,190^[36]

Referee: Martin Atkinson (England)

---

13 October 2015 (2015-10-13)

20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)

Latvia	0–1	Kazakhstan
	Report	Kuat 65'

Skonto Stadium, Riga

Attendance: 7,027^[37]

Referee: Steven McLean (Scotland)

13 October 2015 (2015-10-13)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Netherlands	2–3	Czech Republic
Huntelaar 70' Van Persie 83'	Report	Kadeřábek 24' Šural 35' Van Persie 66' (o.g.)

Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam

Attendance: 48,000^[38]

Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)

13 October 2015 (2015-10-13)

20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)

Turkey	1–0	Iceland
İnan 89'	Report

Torku Arena, Konya

Attendance: 39,404^[39]

Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)

Goalscorers

Iceland's Gylfi Sigurðsson was the group's top scorer, with six goals

There were 80 goals scored in 30 matches, for an average of 2.67 goals per match.

6 goals

• Gylfi Sigurðsson

5 goals

• Klaas-Jan Huntelaar

4 goals

• Bořek Dočkal
• Burak Yılmaz

3 goals

• Kolbeinn Sigþórsson
• Yuriy Logvinenko
• Valērijs Šabala
• Robin van Persie
• Selçuk İnan

2 goals

• Pavel Kadeřábek
• Václav Pilař
• Milan Škoda
• Birkir Bjarnason
• Aron Gunnarsson
• Islambek Kuat
• Arjen Robben
• Georginio Wijnaldum
• Arda Turan

1 goal

• Vladimír Darida
• Ladislav Krejčí
• David Lafata
• David Limberský
• Tomáš Necid
• Tomáš Sivok
• Josef Šural
• Jón Daði Böðvarsson
• Rúrik Gíslason
• Eiður Guðjohnsen
• Ragnar Sigurðsson
• Rinat Abdulin
• Samat Smakov
• Aleksandrs Cauņa
• Aleksejs Višņakovs
• Artūrs Zjuzins
• Ibrahim Afellay
• Jeffrey Bruma
• Stefan de Vrij
• Luciano Narsingh
• Wesley Sneijder
• Serdar Aziz
• Umut Bulut
• Hakan Çalhanoğlu
• Bilal Kısa
• Oğuzhan Özyakup

1 own goal

• Jón Daði Böðvarsson (against Czech Republic)
• Robin van Persie (against Czech Republic)

Discipline

A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:^[3]

• Receiving a red card (red card suspensions could be extended for serious offences)
• Receiving three yellow cards in three different matches, as well as after the fifth and any subsequent yellow card (yellow card suspensions were carried forward to the playoffs, but not the finals or any other future international matches)

The following suspensions were served during the qualifying matches:

Team	Player	Offence(s)	Suspended for match(es)
Czech Republic	Bořek Dočkal	vs Iceland (16 November 2014) vs Latvia (28 March 2015) vs Turkey (10 October 2015)	vs Netherlands (13 October 2015)
Iceland	Aron Gunnarsson	vs Kazakhstan (6 September 2015)	vs Latvia (10 October 2015)
Kazakhstan	Bauyrzhan Dzholchiyev	vs Netherlands (10 October 2014)	vs Czech Republic (13 October 2014) vs Turkey (16 November 2014) vs Iceland (28 March 2015)
	Dmitri Shomko	vs Netherlands (10 October 2014) vs Turkey (12 June 2015) vs Czech Republic (3 September 2015)	vs Iceland (6 September 2015)
Latvia	Artjoms Rudņevs	vs Iceland (10 October 2014)	vs Turkey (13 October 2014)
	Gints Freimanis	vs Turkey (13 October 2014)	vs Netherlands (16 November 2014)
Netherlands	Bruno Martins Indi	vs Iceland (3 September 2015)	vs Turkey (6 September 2015) vs Kazakhstan (10 October 2015)
	Gregory van der Wiel	vs Turkey (28 March 2015) vs Iceland (3 September 2015) vs Turkey (6 September 2015)	vs Kazakhstan (10 October 2015)
Turkey	Ömer Toprak	vs Iceland (9 September 2014)	vs Czech Republic (10 October 2014)
	Arda Turan	vs Iceland (9 September 2014) vs Latvia (13 October 2014) vs Kazakhstan (16 November 2014)	vs Netherlands (28 March 2015)

Notes

1. CET (UTC+1) for matches on 16 November 2014 and 28 March 2015, and CEST (UTC+2) for all other matches.