A fierce battle between Iceland and France, but unfortunately, the draw was not enough for Iceland to make it through to the quarter-finals. France is set to face the Netherlands on 23 July in Rotherham.
18 July 2022, New York Stadium, Rotherham, Matchday 3 in Group D, Iceland prepared to fight against France, who had already qualified for the quarter-finals. Drawing their previous two games, Iceland knew it was their last chance if they wanted to make it to the knockout stages. The Vikings had two options: win the game against France or hope for a draw in the match between Italy and Belgium.
France suffered the loss of Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who had to exit the tournament after suffering from an ACL and meniscus injury. However, France possessed excellent squad depth and wanted to end the group stages with a perfect streak.
The Offside Battle and the Final Action
France were on the attack from the first second, and in 43 seconds, Melvine Malard found the gap between the Icelandic defenses with Clara Matéo to slot the goal in the back of the net. Her celebration paid tribute to Katoto.
Iceland looked to respond with Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir, who headed on to the bar. On the other end, Baltimore forced goalkeeper Sigurdardóttir into making a diving save. Baltimore’s foot connected with a Malard cross, but Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir blocked her shot and prevented a Matéo attempt on the line. A deep corner found its way to a startled Berglind Björg Thorvaldsdóttir, who misconnected and skied the ball with her knee as Iceland continued to press and finished the first half impressively.
France made changes at halftime with the entry of Delphine Cascarino, and after the 55th minute, she came close to a second goal for France. Around the time, Belgium had scored against Italy, ruining Iceland’s hopes of qualification with a draw in that game. The only way Iceland could qualify now was by winning the match themselves. Iceland pushed forward with Agla María Albertsdóttir, who forced a save from the French keeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin. The deflection was headed wide by Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir.
Iceland made a triple substitution to reload their attack and push through the French defenses. Iceland gained a late penalty for a foul on Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir. Brynjarsdóttir scored the penalty to a roar, but it was the game’s final kick. France finishes with seven points and will return on Saturday to play the Netherlands in the same stadium. Iceland’s stunning play falls barely short.
Post Match Reaction
Melvine Malard won the Visa Player of the Match for her lively centre-forward performance and combination play.
An awe-inspiring performance and Euros campaign by the Icelandic National Team, who played brilliantly throughout the tournament. Iceland became the first team to draw all three games in a Women’s EURO group. Iceland is also the first team to be eliminated from a group unbeaten.
“I’m proud of my team. I can’t say any more than that. We put in a lot of effort in and tried to win and wanted to; we played a strong team. I had my phone in my pocket and knew what was going on [in the other game], and I knew we needed to score two goals. But first of all, we wanted to score a least one, and we did in the end. We didn’t lose in the tournament, and I am proud of my team and the fans.” – Thorsteinn Halldórsson, Iceland coach.
“The coach showed her confidence in me, and I wanted to play my football out there. It’s a big competition, and it went pretty well, so I’m pleased. [On her celebration tribute to Katoto] We weren’t expecting a player like her to get injured and be ruled out. She is still with us, and when we score, we will think of her; she is still here for us, and we are still here for her.” – Melvine Malard.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed we are not going to the quarter-finals, but I’m proud of how we played today. I just wished we had played like that in the other two games. Today we showed how good we are on the ball. We’ll take the positive things from this game and build on that. Obviously, we are in this to win, and it was our goal coming into the tournament to get one win. We didn’t reach that goal in this tournament, but we got three points, so we can be proud of that.” – Dagný Brynjarsdóttir.
“I’m really proud of the team and the performance today. I’m proud of the development we have had from the last tournament. Obviously, I’m disappointed with how it went, I think we deserved more, but it was close.” – Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir.
Full Time at New York Stadium
France 1-1 Iceland
1′ Melvine Malard
90+12′ Dagný Brynjarsdóttir
Photos from the fixture by James Whitehead
Written by Unnati Naidu.
Thanks for reading.
Check out more Women’s Euro 2022 articles by clicking here.
Follow Sporting Her on social media: Instagram // Twitter // Facebook // Youtube
Doctor, Photographer and Journalist ready to take on the world.
