Olivier Giroud scored twice to take man-of-the-match honors as France marched into the Euro 2016 semi-finals, but even after a 5-2 hammering Iceland departed with pride having struck new underdog blows.
France next play Germany on Thursday aiming to settle old scores from past World Cups and European Championships, and having home advantage and an attack led by Giroud and Antoine Griezmann that is starting to fire gives the hosts growing confidence.
The Euro 2016 semi-finals start in Lyon tomorrow with Gareth Bale’s Wales taking on Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal.
Photo: EPA
Giroud hit a goal in each half of the comprehensive victory at a rain-drenched Stade de France. He was joined on the score sheet 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.
France coach Didier Deschamps might have been worried, though, 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 Euro 2016 after their 2-1 victory over England.
“We scored five goals, we are very satisfied, but Iceland never gave up. They fought with valor, they were very determined,” the Arsenal striker said.
“I want to pay tribute to them. They had a wonderful Euro,” added Giroud, who was brought off after his second goal to avoid getting a yellow card that would have led to a suspension.
“I’m very proud. It’s been a fantastic tournament, something special for a small team like us,” Iceland’s Gylfi Sigurdsson said.
“We’ve probably overachieved. It is something no one expected us to do, which is good because it gives kids back home hope that this is possible and hopefully in the future we’ll be back in the finals,” he said.
“We have probably 10, 15 players who are at a really good age and we’ll be looking forward to the World Cup qualifiers, which aren’t too far away,” he added.
Iceland only has a population of 330,000, but Euro 2016 has put the nation “on the map,” Arnor Ingvi Traustason said.
“I’ve been getting messages from all over the world from people proud of us,” he said.
Deschamps hailed his side’s performance, though he acknowledged the weaknesses highlighted by the two goals.
“It’s not ideal even if I made some changes, but there are so many positives to take from tonight,” Deschamps said.
“Germany are the best team, there is no doubt about that, even if Italy gave them a few scares, but we are there in the final four and we’ll give it our all,” Deschamps added.
Germany beat France in the 2014 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, but the French feel their defeat in the 1982 semi-final when Patrick Battiston suffered critical injuries even more.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
Armand Duplantis will be among the reigning Olympic champions adding star power to the world indoor championships this weekend when the Chinese city of Nanjing hosts the first major global athletics meet since the Paris Games last year. The three-day event was originally slated for 2020 and faced multiple postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Nanjing’s Sports Training Center would finally welcome more than 570 athletes for the start of the showpiece today. One of the main attractions would be pole vaulter “Mondo” Duplantis, who soared 6.27m to break the world record for a staggering 11th time in Clermont-Ferrand last
RSS