When it comes to attacking talent, the home nation definitely holds the advantage. They have in their ranks world-class stars such as Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud and West Ham’s Dimitri Payet. Griezmann showed his worth in the round-of-16 game against Republic of Ireland wherein he scored two crucial second-half goals to inspire France’s come-from-behind 2-1 win. He’s the first Frenchman to score three goals in a single European Championship finals since Zinedine Zidane in 2004.
That being said, Iceland’s offense isn’t as far off as many had expected. They have scored an average of two goals in this competition, the highest in this year’s European Championship. Leading the way for Iceland in their surprise tournament run is Kolbeinn Sigthorsson. He scored the winner in Iceland’s shock 2-1 victory over England in the previous round. The FC Nantes striker has scored 21 goals in 43 international appearances for Iceland.
We give Iceland the edge on defense, but only just. They have made it this far in the tournament because of their high work rate and stifling defense. Iceland have conceded just four goals over four matches in this competition. The Iceland backline has gone on from strength to strength since neutralizing superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in their Euro opener against Portugal.
They showed their defensive prowess in the round-of-16 win against England as they held firm against a relentless Three Lions’ attack. Iceland limited England to just four shots on target even though Roy Hodgson’s men had 68 percent of the possession in that match. Much of the credit for Iceland’s dogged display should be given to manager Lars Lagerback. Since his appointment as coach in 2011, Lagerback has built from the back to ensure Iceland doesn’t become easy prey for the big European teams.
That being said, you can not underestimate France’s backline. Their make-shift defense has been a revelation in this year’s tournament thus far. In fact, France have conceded fewer shots on target than any other nation at this year’s European Championships (3 in 4 games). Look for the experience of Patrice Evra, Bacary Sagna, Laurent Koscielny and Adil Rami to shine through in their quarterfinal match against Iceland.
Writer’s Prediction: France (-280) barges into the semifinals with a thrilling 2-1 win.
