France marches into Euro 2016 semifinals
PARIS — Olivier Giroud scored twice to take man-of-the-match honors as France marched into the Euro 2016 semifinals but even after a 5-2 hammering, Iceland departed with pride having struck new underdog blows.
France now plays Germany aiming to settle old scores from past World Cups and Euros. And having home advantage and an attack led by Giroud and Antoine Griezmann that is starting to fire gives the French growing confidence.
The semifinals will start on Wednesday however with Gareth Bale’s Wales taking on Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal.
Giroud hit a goal in each half of the comprehensive victory at a rain-drenched Stade de France. He was joined on the scoresheet by Paul Pogba, Dimitri Payet and Griezmann. Atletico Madrid striker Griezman hit a brilliant chip on the stroke of halftime and now leads the tournament rankings with four goals.
French coach Didier Deschamps may have been worried however by the way Kolbeinn Sigthorsson and Birkir Bjarnason exposed France’s defensive frailties with two second-half goals. Giroud was quick to pay tribute to Iceland, the revelation of the European Championship after their 2-1 victory over England.
Iceland has only a population of 330,000 but Euro 2016 has put the country “on the map,” according to Arnor Ingvi Traustason.
Didier Deschamps’ men will take on Germany in Marseille on Thursday for a place in the final.
Deschamps hailed his side’s performance though he acknowledged the weaknesses highlighted by the two goals.
Germany beats France in the 2014 World Cup quarterfinals. But France feel their defeat in the 1982 semifinal when Patrick Battiston suffered critical injuries even more.
Iceland, who had never beaten France in 11 attempts, kept faith with the side that shocked England, making European Championship history as the first team to name an unchanged line-up for their first five matches.
Sluggish starts have been a hallmark of France matches in the tournament, but the hosts quickly seized control and Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson had to smother Payet’s early effort at the second attempt.