Clinical France Blow Brave Iceland Away, but Defensive Deficiencies Remain

France are in the semi-finals of the 2016 UEFA European Championship after their 5-2 thrashing of surprise package Iceland at Stade de France on Sunday.

Lars Lagerback and Heimir Hallgrimsson’s men were expected to give the hosts a thorough examination in Saint-Denis but instead looked spent from their victory over England in the round of 16.

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Les Bleus opened the scoring through Olivier Giroud after 12 minutes and did not look back from there. Paul Pogba, Dimitri Payet and Antoine Griezmann all found the back of the net before the end of the first half, giving Didier Deschamps’ men a 4-0 lead at the break.

Iceland restored some pride after the restart, beating the French 2-1 over the second 45 minutes, but Giroud’s second goal of the match meant the two-time European Championship winners ran out 5-2 victors.

Speaking after the final whistle in Paris, as reported by Ligue1.com, Deschamps revealed his delight at the performance:

"

It wasn't easy to manage everything, but this evening we did all we had to in the first half. Afterwards we let up a little, and I really wanted to protect Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny.

They were facing a possible suspension and it would have been really stupid to lose a player in such a game.

Germany have been the best team, without doubt, even if they had a bit of a hard time on occasion against Italy, who took them all the way. But we are there, in the final four, and we will give our all against the best team not only in Europe, but the world.

There are a lot of positives to take away from this evening and I'm delighted for the players as they deserve this, and for these fans who have been behind us for months.

To be able to offer them something to make them smile and feel happy and to have another week here—I'm delighted about that.

"

After looking much better in the second half against the Republic of Ireland in the last 16 than they did in the first, Deschamps kept faith with the 4-2-3-1 he switched to against the Boys in Green in Lyon.

Barcelona-bound Samuel Umtiti came in to replace the suspended Adil Rami in central defence and enjoyed a solid-enough senior international debut, while Moussa Sissoko was preferred to Kingsley Coman on the right side of the attacking midfield trio.

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Keeping faith in the 4-2-3-1 enabled Deschamps to employ Blaise Matuidi in his preferred left-sided central-midfield role and Griezmann just behind target man Giroud in attack. Those two tactical details contributed toward a first half attacking blitz from France.

Matuidi was key in the opening goal; the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder played a sensational ball into the path of Giroud, who finished clinically. The Arsenal man added an assist to his tally before half-time, while Griezmann had racked up two assists and a goal by the break.

The hosts took their foot off the gas a little in the second half, allowing Kolbeinn Sigthorsson to score before Giroud grabbed his second—this time from a Payet assist—and Birkir Bjarnason added an extra consolation strike for Iceland.

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However, as impressive as Les Bleus were going forward, there remain significant questions over the defence after leaking their first two goals from open play at Euro 2016.

Admittedly, it was not ideal for Deschamps to throw Umtiti in at the deep end for his first France appearance, but the 22-year-old put in a respectable performance.

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The problem was Les Bleus switched off after half-time, and although that was slightly understandable at 4-0 up, it is also something that the team must not repeat against Germany in Thursday’s semi-final in Marseille.

Rami will be back for the clash at the Stade Velodrome, so the Sevilla man will surely replace Umtiti alongside Laurent Koscielny, but Bacary Sagna and Patrice Evra will need to do more to help this France back line make it through the encounter.

Deschamps’ men are allowing too many crosses into the box, and although their most obvious weakness is from set pieces, France’s defence is not the best at dealing with the aerial threats posed by their various opponents.

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Les Bleus will almost certainly line up in the same 4-2-3-1 they used against Iceland when they face Germany, and with Mats Hummels suspended on Thursday, the Mannschaft's rearguard could be more vulnerable than usual.

However, if Deschamps cannot get his players to cut out the defensive lapses, then their run toward the final could be cut short at the final hurdle.

France have finally arrived at Euro 2016 in the way many expected them to do in the group stage. The hosts must make the most of being on home soil and exact revenge on Joachim Low’s men for their 2014 FIFA World Cup exit in Brazil.