The hosts France flexed their muscle at the Stade de France on Monday morning, running out convincing winners against Iceland, with Germany awaiting them in the semi-final.
Les Bleus were in front in the contest within 12 minutes, as Olivier Giroud netted his first of the game, making an excellent run in behind the Iceland defence, getting on the end of Blaise Matuidi’s ball.
The lead was doubled soon after as Iceland were undone by a corner in a rare set-piece lapse, with Paul Pogba heading home.
Goals to the form players Dimitri Payet and Antoine Griezmann at the end of the first half put the result well beyond doubt, with the score being 4-0 at half time.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Iceland were much better in the second half however, and hit the scoresheet through both Kolbeinn Sigthorsson and Birkir Bjarnason, showing their fighting spirit despite ultimately being outclassed.
Giroud completed his double before substituted soon after, putting an exclamation mark on an impressive performance by France.
The contest was an open one, bucking the trend of the tournament as a whole.
Pressure? What pressure?
Having watched the Three Lions capitulate under the weight of expectation when facing Iceland last week, one could have been forgiven for thinking that France were at risk of doing the same.
Any questions as to how they would handle the pressure of expectation were allayed within the opening 20 minutes of this contest after the hosts took a seemingly unassailable lead, firstly through Giroud and then Pogba eight minutes later.
If the game was not already over at 2-0, it most certainly was at half time, as the floodgates truly opened late in the half.
The star power of France proved too much for Iceland, who were completely dominant, particularly in the final third
A sad end to the fairytale
Regardless of this result, the Iceland players will all go home as heroes. They have been the story of the tournament (along with Wales) and the plucky underdogs have provided much entertainment throughout their run.
Unfortunately, Les Bleus proved to be a bridge too far for the Strakarnir Okkar, who looked tired from a series of herculean efforts in the tournament.
With the exception of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Iceland didn’t boast a plethora of household names, however the profile of many have been raised, particularly the likes of Ragnar Sigurdsson, Kari Arnason and Aron Gunnarsson, the latter whom many keen observers of the English Championship would have been familiar with.
READ MORE: Euro 2016 – Player Ratings – France 5 Iceland 2
While not disgraced despite the lop-sided result, their exit to the tournament was an unfortunate one considering the level of performances they displayed in reaching the quarterfinal – in their first appearance in any major tournament.
France starting to peak late in the tournament
Up until now, France have not yet looked at their best, despite now being in the semi-finals. Payet has been the main exception, however, as he has been one of the players of the tournament.
It took a late Payet screamer in their opening fixture against Romania. Against Albania, they were arguably flattered by the 2-0 result and were dour in a stalemate with Switzerland. Even in the round of 16, they suffered a major scare against the Republic of Ireland, until Griezmann produced his heroics.
This performance, however, was an emphatic one. They played as a side on top of their game and with an element of swagger against a side that, in fairness, they should have beaten.
It all bodes well for the host nation in the remainder of the tournament. Their test will be a much tougher one in the semi-final, where they will face heavyweights Germany, posing a completely different test, with full respect to their opponents this morning. They will also welcome back N’Golo Kante and Adil Rami for the fixture, who have (albeit through suspension) been afforded a rest.
They will however, need to address the defensive lapses shown in the second half this morning.
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