[ad_1]
Frenchman Antoine Griezmann, on the right, contests the ball with Icelandic Hordur Magnusson during the Euro 2020 qualifying match of Group H between France and Iceland at the Stade de France in Saint Denis, near Paris , France, Monday, March 25, 2019. (Michel Euler / Associated Press)
By Samuel Petrequin | AP
March 25 at 17:56
PARIS – France, world champion, has fully capitalized on Iceland's defensive deficiencies and lack of imagination to demolish the North Atlantic nation 4-0 in qualifying for the 2020 European Championship on Monday .
France took the upper hand in all areas and could have scored more in the second half if it was not for the blindness of his attackers in front of goal.
Defender Samuel Umtiti opened the scoring in the first half and Olivier Giroud, Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann completed the win after the break.
The team that beat Moldova 4 to 1 this weekend remained unchanged. Giroud, Mbappe, Griezmann and Blaise Matuidi took the lead in the 4-3-2-1 system.
Iceland plays cautiously with a deep defensive line but fails to absorb the pressure. France took advantage after 12 minutes when Mbappe found Samuel Umtiti with a good center from the left, to the left of the center, behind the ball, which was not scored in the box.
Six minutes later, Giroud was close to the mark, but goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson tilted the head of the head at close range. Mbappe's goal was of little depth after a sharp acceleration of the left defense.
Iceland, which has won only one of its last 17 games, has struggled to move the ball out of its half and its only chance to make it in the first half. -time came from a stopped room.
After the break, Benjamin Pavard, Griezmann and Matuidi missed the goal.
Giroud then scored his 35th international goal to become France's third top scorer in front of David Trezeguet, taking advantage of Halldorsson's misplacement to throw the ball into the net with his thigh.
Mbappe went 3-0 with a goal in the 78th after recovering a subtle Griezmann ball, which completed the rout six minutes from the end. Griezmann was set up by a magnificent Mbappe rear wheel, back to the defenders.
In other matches of Group H, Turkey crushed Moldova 4-0 and Albania won 3-0 in Andorra. With two victories in as many games, France leads the group on equal points with Turkey.
___
More football AP: https://apnews.com/apf-Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
[ad_2]
Source link
