A ruthless France proved a step too far for a spirited Iceland after suffering a 5-2 defeat, ending its extraordinary Cinderella story at the Stade de France.
After failing to find the net during the first half of the tournament, the host nation had four by the interval with goals from Olivier Giroud, Paul Pogba, Dimitri Payet and Antoine Griezmann.
Les Bleus got off to the perfect start when Giroud struck first with a clinical finish, pouncing on a wonderfully weighted aerial ball from Blaise Matuidi, to catch the Iceland defence off-guard.
Pogba’s header off an Antoine Griezmann corner moments later ensured the French doubled its advantage inside 20 minutes.
The Nordic side was breached again as Payet hit a low drive with his weaker left foot outside the 18-yard box nestling into the bottom corner.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
More misery followed for Iceland as Griezmann etched his name on the scoresheet with a sublime chip over the onrushing Hannes Halldorsson.
The second-half saw Iceland improve and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson pulled one back for the visitors, dispatching a well-taken volley, but it was nothing more than a consolation.
Giroud got a second and France’s fifth of the evening with a header from a Payet set-piece.
Birkir Bjarnason reduced the deficit connecting with Ari Skulason’s teasing cross to give the passionate Icelandic fans something to cheer about.
The result means they have booked an intriguing semi-final clash with reigning world champions Germany in Marseille in four days’ time.
France
Hugo Lloris – 6.5: A relatively comfortable outing from the captain and made the necessary decisions when called upon, including a reflex save.
Bacary Sagna – 6.5: Marauded forward with intent and snuffed out any imminent threat at the back, the 33-year-old has been one of Didier Deschamps’ most consistent performers.
Laurent Koscielny – 6.5: Decent on the ball and taken off given he was a booking away from missing the crucial clash with Germany.
Samuel Umtiti – 6: After understandably making a tentative start, the Barcelona-bound man on debut grew into his position, giving a good account of himself – apt in possession and strong in challenges.
Patrice Evra – 6.5: Another solid display at left-back and never looked troubled in one-on-one situations.
Paul Pogba – 7: Much maligned throughout the tournament, the Juventus star bossed the midfield and netted a header from a corner.
Blaise Matuidi – 7: An improved display in midfield, Matuidi was dynamic, inspired and inventive and assisted Giroud’s goal with a lovely chipped throughball.
Dimitri Payet – 8.5: Influential, netting a brilliant goal and laying on a further assist for his teammate.
Antoine Griezmann – 8.5: Instrumental in proceedings in his natural central position with a goal and two assists. The diminutive prodigy delivered the corner for Pogba to head home, cushioned the ball for Payet’s daisy-cutter and audaciously lobbed the goalkeeper.
Moussa Sissoko – 6: Subdued performance from the enterprising midfielder, but became more involved later in the match.
Olivier Giroud – 7: The striker netted a brace and combined extremely well with Griezmann, playing a part in the fourth goal.
Substitutes
Andre-Pierre Gignac – 5.5: Brought on for Giroud on the hour-mark, but was unable to get amongst the goals.
Eliaquim Mangala – 5.5: Replaced Koscielny and did what he needed to do alongside Umtiti.
Kingsley Coman – N/A: Not enough to impact the game.
READ MORE: Euro 2016 What We Learned – France 5 Iceland 2
Iceland
Hannes Halldorsson – 5: Was at fault for Giroud’s second when he failed to negotiate Payet’s swinging free-kick, but could not do much about the first four.
Birkir Saevarsson – 5: Could not contain the quality of Payet who frequently was allowed too much space.
Kari Arnason – 5.5: Replaced the break, but could not contain a rampant France, conceding four first-half goals.
Ragnar Sigurdsson – 5: Exposed defensively at times and was no match for Giroud or Griezmann.
Ari Skulason – 5.5: Delivered an incisive ball for Iceland’s second and kept Sissoko fairly quiet.
Gylfi Sigurdsson – 6: Unable to get into the match, due to seeing less of the ball, but provided a beautiful whipped-in ball to find Sigthorsson.
Aron Gunnarsson – 5.5: Overrun in midfield as the class of Pogba and Matuidi was a bridge too far, in what was a sensational outing against England.
Johann Gudmundsson – 5.5: Got better in the second-half for his side, offering width and pace.
Birkir Bjarnason – 6: Snatched at a shot early in the game and gradually saw more of the ball in wide areas, also dropping back to help out defensively.
Jon Bodvarsson – 5.5: Wasted a decent opportunity to halve the deficit and did not see a lot of the ball in attack.
Kolbeinn Sigthorsson – 6: Scored a nice volley and netted his second of the tournament.
Substitutes
Alfred Finnbogason – 5.5: Substituted on at the break, but was starved of service.
Sverrir Ingason – 5.5: Added resolve at the back in second period in game which was over by half time.
Eidur Gudjohnsen – N/A: Came on for sentimental reasons, as it was his last match for Iceland.
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