France on the march as Iceland dream melts away

France 5 Iceland 2: France have finally come alive at Euro 2016 after producing a mercurial five-goal performance, ruthless and majestic in equal measure, to end Iceland’s fairytale and set up a semi-final against world champions Germany that has the potential to be the contest of the tournament so far.

Two goals from Olivier Giroud, on a night when he turned jeers to cheers, as well as from Paul Pogba, Dimitri Payet, and Antoine Griezmann — all of them exquisitely finished — sent Didier Deschamps’ men on the way to a thrilling 5-2 victory, ending dreams that Iceland, having beaten England, could become the Leicester City of Europe and actually lift the trophy.

The fact that they won’t — or that they departed with a heavy defeat — should not tarnish the memory of what has been an incredible tournament for a team ranked total underdogs before they arrived in France and which has provided European football with a breath of fresh air.