Two-time European Champions and hosts France will face the story of the tournament Iceland in the fourth and last quarter-final of the UEFA Euro 2016. While the French team defeated the Republic of Ireland in round-of-16, Iceland trumped perennial underachievers England. The winner of this match wil go on to play Germany in the semi-final, who defeated Italy on penalties last night.
Les Blues will be banking on the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Dimitri Payet to take the team through, while Iceland players will have to stay strong and defend their hearts out if they wish to keep this exciting French side from getting a foothold in the match.
Didier Deschamps, who was himself on the winning side in the Euro 2000, heaped praise on the Iceland players and went on to say their win against England was fully deserved. He also talked about the Icelanders’ long throw routine and said that the French team have worked on it.
“The players know Iceland aren't here by chance. If they're here it's because they deserve to be and have quality. Long throws from 35 or 40 metres out are like free-kicks for them and we've come up with ways to deal with it. Don't reduce them to long throws, though. In open play they're capable of playing it on the deck. Iceland deserved to beat England, and they did it through the quality of their play.
“Physically they are very strong and we'll have to battle for the ball. I can't make my players taller. I have players who can compete in the air. We have to be aggressive and watch out for flick-ons.
“I've seen teams start well and finish badly; it's better to do things the other way round as we have been doing. When I see things aren't going well then I react, as I did in the last game when I sent Kingsley Coman to warm up in the 35th minute.”
On the other hand, Lars Lagerback and Heimir Hallgrimsson, Iceland’s joint coaches were confident of their teams’ chances and said that they are ready for the match. In all probability, this will be the biggest football match in the Nordic nation’s history.
“I always say to players and media that in football you always have a realistic chance. I would say that France are a little bit of a favourite, but I won't call them a big favourite. Most important for us is that we go out tomorrow and believe we can beat them. If we have that attitude, I think we can cause them some problems.
“The players will really enjoy it and at the same time be really focused and play a good game. It's not often you have a chance to get to a semi-final, so I think that's motivation enough.
"What I hear from Iceland and the support we have here, I understand that this is of course really big. Almost all the population are watching on TV or out in the streets. It would be fantastic to pay that back and [cause] a bit more of an upset at this EURO, so we can let the people and fans really feel the joy we feel when it's going so well", Lagerback said.
Hallgrimsson went on to say that the players have now become used to the pressure and the enormity of the occasion. He also opined that we all have not seen Iceland's best performance in the tournament yet.
"Because we are always playing the biggest game in Icelandic football history, I think the players have just got more used to it. As we have already got past the obstacles that have been put in front of us, I think the ones ahead get smaller.
"I think a big part of why we are always playing better and better is that the players are more relaxed in every game and have grown in confidence. I will continue saying that we haven't seen Iceland's best game yet."
Live Stream and kick-off time
The match will be live from 00:30 IST (Monday), 20:00 BST (Sunday). Watch live streaming of France vs Iceland on SonyLIV. Follow France vs Iceland, Euro 2016 Live Score and Commentary with Sportskeeda. The match will be telecasted live on Sony Six and Sony Six HD in India, ESPN in the USA and ITV 1 in the UK. The match will be played at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
Team News
For France, both Adil Rami and N'Golo Kante are suspended for the match and are expected to be replaced by Samuel Umtiti and Yohan Cabaye respectively.
Iceland are expected to remain unchanged for the fifth game in a row.
Probable Line-up
France (4-3-3): Lloris; Sagna, Koscielny, Umtiti, Evra; Pogba, Cabaye, Matuidi; Griezmann, Giroud, Payet.
Iceland (4-4-2): Halldorsson; Sævarsson, Arnason, R Sigurdsson, Skulason; Gudmundsson, Gunnarsson, G Sigurdsson, B Bjarnason; Bodvarsson, Sigthorsson.
Form Guide (Most recent first)
France – WDWWW
France have lost just one of their last 10 matches and did not lose a single match in the group stage as well.
Iceland – WWDD
Iceland have been the story of the tournament and for a nation with a population of 3,30,000 they have punched well above their weight.
Head to head record
- France have not lost to Iceland in their last 11 matches with drawing only 3 those matches and winning the rest.
- Iceland have played six away matches against France and have lost all of them.
- France have scored 22 goals in all home matches against Iceland and have conceded only five.
- They last played each other in May 2012 in Valenciennes, when France came out 3-2 victors.
Prediction
Iceland will, in all probability, try their best to continue their inspiring run in the tournament and France will find it hard to break them. However, they might just emerge victorious given the form Griezmann is in. We predict a 2-1 win for France.
