France broke the hearts of 363,000 Icelandic fans as they sealed an emphatic 5-2 win at the Stade de France earlier today. Iceland shaped in their usual 4-4-2 formation, while France made a few shifts to their starting eleven, with the most notable one being Samuel Umtiti for Adil Rami, who was suspended.
But it only took 13 minutes for the home side the break the deadlock, as Olivier Giroud fired home to make it 1-0. Merely seven minutes later, Paul Pogba doubled France’s lead with a powerful header.
Iceland attempted to muster a comeback, but they were also reluctant to lose their defensive shape. But on the 43rd minute, France made it 3-0, thanks to Dimitri Payet’s grounder. If that wasn’t enough, Antoine Griezmann produced a moment of brilliance to score a chipped goal and make it 4-0 on the brink of half-time.
After the break, Iceland pulled one back, thanks to Sigthorsson’s clinical finish on the 56th minute. But three minutes later, Icelandic hearts were crushed for the fifth time, as Olivier Giroud headed home to make it 5-1.
While Iceland did manage to score another one on the 84th minute mark – this time through Bjarnason – it was ultimately too big of a mountain for them to scale, as France held on to comfortably book a mouthwatering semi-final tie against Germany
Nonetheless, here are the three players that impressed at the Stade de France!
Paul Pogba
So much has been said and discussed about Paul Pogba’s inability to hit top form at the Euros, but tonight, all of it was effectively quashed. The Juventus midfielder was absolutely immense and he completely outclassed the Icelandic midfielders in the middle of the park. He scored one, had several inch-perfect tackles and even had a 92% pass completion rate, throughout the game. If that doesn’t speak volumes about his influence, nothing will.
Olivier Giroud
If you always wondered why Olivier Giroud is France’s first choice striker, tonight would have solved your questions. With Iceland sitting deep, Giroud was pivotal in causing problems with his upper body strength, and sheer movement off the ball. The first goal was all about timing, while the second one was all about strength and determination. He has now scored 10 goals in his last 9 matches for France. Won’t be surprised if you find Arsene Wenger chuckling to himself at home.
Antoine Griezmann
What a player! Absolutely scintillating stuff, yet again. Griezmann is such a small player, physically, but he compensates for it by being extremely quick and flexible upfront. Not only did he score a beautiful chipped goal in the first half, Griezmann also assisted two other goals for France. After tonight, he is now the top scorer of the European Championships with 4 goals, and at this rate, you’d expect him to add one or two more, assuming France reach the final.
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