France ends Iceland's surprise run at European Championships
SAINT-DENIS, France – Iceland’s fairy tale run through to the quarterfinals of soccer’s European Championships came to an abrupt halt on Sunday night, as host nation France delivered a heavy 5-2 defeat on the tiny Scandinavian nation at the Stade de France.
With a population of just 330,000, just qualifying for the tournament was a remarkable achievement for Iceland, let alone reaching the knockout stage, where it dramatically defeated England on Monday.
However, France was a different proposition altogether, and was in no mood to allow the dream to continue on a rainy night in Paris’ northern suburbs.
Olivier Giroud got things going for France after just 12 minutes, firing home an angled strike between the legs of Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson.
Paul Pogba added a second seven minutes later, before Dimitri Payet and Antoine Griezmann effectively killed off the game with two more in the moments leading up to half-time.
France will now take on reining world champion in Thursday’s second semifinal in Marseille, a true battle of the heavyweights. Yet this will always go down as a tournament where the underdog had his day, none more so than Iceland, whose achievement captured new fans around the world.
True to their tenacious spirit, they did not go quietly. Cheered on by an estimated 12 percent of their population that had travelled to France, not all able to get a ticket, Iceland snatched a goal through Kolbeinn Sigthorsson after 56 minutes. Giroud got another for France, his second of the night, soon after, but Birkir Bjarnason added respectability to the score with Iceland’s second six minutes from the end.
The journey has been a remarkable one, an inspiring tale – and one that will not soon be forgotten. As they stood in the sodden conditions, Iceland’s battlers received a standing ovation from their countrymen at the final whistle. They were soon joined by thousands of French supporters, who could set aside thoughts of overall triumph long enough to appreciate the magic of the fairytale.