France's Attack Sends Iceland Packing

Published on 3-Jul-2016 by srijan213

Soccer    Soccer Daily Update

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France's Attack Sends Iceland Packing

Apparently, the French national team rounded up a VHS player.

Or something that took them back in time to when 4-4-2 was the game's vanilla shape.

Amazingly, it seems like they were one of the few sides to do their homework on how to deal with it.

As a result, Les Bleus were ready for the history lesson Iceland had been dispensing over the past year.

So there goes the trademark Disney happy ending ...

Time to dispel at least one myth: the part-time dentist is not Iceland's coach. Yet.

Dude takes over sole control as manager after Lars Lagerbäck -- the former Swedish national team manager, with considerable experience -- has stepped down now that their EuroRun is over.

Anyway, continuing with a faux Disney apology for making Iceland the villains in Mighty Ducks 2 ...

It would've been a snazzy story line for everyone who isn't French, but this time, the Viking haka didn't work.

France is off to the Euro 2016 semi-finals after that 5-2 demolition.

They'd studied enough of the 4-4-2 formation to exploit the hell out of it.

Case in point:

Watch Blaise Matuidi take out the entirety of Iceland's midfielders and backs with a bomb to Olivier Giroud, who split the gap between Ragnar Sigurðsson and Kári Árnason and let his sniper's instincts do the rest:

Paul Pogba finally joined the party as he literally flew over the Iceland defense:

A moving start beats a cold stand every time.

Dimitri Payet has been the main man for France, and he showed why:

Full marks to Giroud, who headed down Bacary Sagna's cross, and to Antoine Greizmann for dishing a perfect pass for Payet:

Griezmann was also a beneficiary of Giroud's exceptional deception, creating a fatal pause in Iceland's backs:

Les Bleus had now gone both over and through the 4-4-2 like a hot knife through butter.

Iceland still made no adjustments, which was confirmation in itself that midnight had struck.

Dude used a nifty pitching wedge for a finish that would've put a tear in Dustin Johnson's eye.

The Icemen finally found twine with a three-man charge into the box, where Kolbeinn Sigþórsson was the first to get a telling touch on it:

This didn't spark a rally, however, as France's four-goal cushion was quickly restored by Giroud:

Complements again to selfless team play for the heady service.

Birkir Bjarnason posted the second goal for Iceland, but that was merely a lovely parting gift for the team's appreciative fans:

France now prepares for a clash of the titans in the semi-final against Germany.

Meanwhile, a grateful nation will prepare to welcome its heroes, who rode on the spirit of their ancestors to football heights no one could have imagined.