Wales U21 1-0 Iceland U21: Ten-man Wales return to top of group
- Published
Joe Low's goal was his third in four Wales Under-21 appearances
Wales returned to the top of their group in the Euro 2025 Under-21 Championship qualifiers with victory over Iceland in Newport.
Joe Low's first half header secured a win which saw Matty Jones' side leapfrog Iceland at the top of Group I.
Wales were reduced to 10 men when Josh Thomas was sent off for a challenge on goalkeeper Adam Ingi Benediktsson.
But the hosts held on and sealed the win that maintained their unbeaten start.
They face top seeds Denmark at Newport's Rodney Parade on Monday, 20 November (18:00 GMT).
Wales were playing at home for the first time in the campaign after three successive away qualifiers, which had brought a win and two draws, while Iceland had won their opening two games.
Jones' side were boosted by the returns of Wycombe Wanderers' Low and Charlie Savage, both of whom had not featured in October's 1-1 draw in the Czech Republic having made their senior debuts in the friendly win over Gibraltar.
Low's downward header from Tom Davies' pinpoint cross gave Wales the lead and brought the game to life following a quiet opening 25 minutes in which the two sides had cancelled each other out.
Kristall Máni Ingason thought he had levelled for the visitors nine minutes later, but the forward had handled the ball before netting, which also earned him a yellow card.
Hlynur Freyr Karlsson made a crucial tackle to thwart Thomas, who was through on goal in first-half stoppage time.
Thomas, on loan at Port Vale from Swansea City, had the ball in the back of the net just before the hour mark, but his header was disallowed for a foul.
Thomas' evening came to an abrupt end soon after when he was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Benediktsson as he chased a loose ball - with the keeper forced to leave the action.