That’s it for tonight’s blog, and indeed for the group stage of Euro 2022. I’ll leave with Sophie Downey’s report from Rotherham.
We’ll be back on Wednesday for the appreciable matter of England v Spain. Goodnight!
The entire Iceland squad thunderclap their fans, then the goalscorer Brynjarsdottir runs across to embrace her son. It’s a lovely scene, rich in humanity. Her penalty was majestic by the way, slammed nonchalantly over Peyraud-Magnin.
“Hello Rob,” says Kári Tulinius. “I feel like Iceland played well enough to get out of the group. For the first time in my life I feel disappointment that Iceland didn’t reach the quarterfinals of a major tournament. I realise it’s a marker of how far they’ve come that I expected more, but it doesn’t feel any better in the moment.”
Iceland become the first team to go out at the group stage of the Euros without losing a game, having drawn all three matches 1-1. In time they’ll reflect on their campaign with pride, but for now there will nothing but pain.
Belgium have gone through to the quarter-finals after being Italy 1-0 in Manchester. They will play Sweden in the last eight. And France, who were seconds away from a record-equalling 17th straight victory, will meet the Netherlands on Saturday.
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Full time: Iceland 1-1 France
That was the last kick of the game, and Iceland are out of Euro 2022.
GOAL! Iceland 1-1 France (Brynjarsdottir 90+12)
Dagny Brynjarsdottir smashes a superb penalty high into the net!
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Penalty to Iceland!
But Belgium have beaten Italy, so Iceland still need two goals in about five seconds.
90+10 min It’s an accidental trip by Sarr on Jonsdottir, a split-second before that chance for Vilhjalmsdottir, and I think this will be given.
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90+9 min: VAR check for an Iceland penalty! This would change things, though they would still need a second goal to qualify. The referee is going to the monitor!
90+8 min One last chance for Iceland, with Vilhjalmsdottir thrashing over following a corner. But even if she had scored, it wouldn’t have been enough.
90+6 min “I think Matt Dony should duck out of the next MBM,” says Simon McMahon. “For his own good, and that of the country. This spectacle isn’t doing anyone any favours.”
90+5 min The resulting corner is headed over by Viggosdottir, who made a really good run to the near post. She’s had an outstanding game and saved at least two goals in the first half.
90+3 min Karchaoui is booked for fouling the irrepressible Vilhjalmsdottir. The free-kick is swung in, headed clear by Renard and then headed back into the area. Brynjarsdottir looks set to score, only for Tounkara to makes a brilliant last-ditch tackle.
There was a collision between Brynjarsdottir and the keeper Peyraud-Magnin, and both need treatment. They’re okay to continue.
90 min Six minutes of added time. Iceland need two goals.
NO GOAL! Iceland 0-1 France
France have had another goal disallowed! Turns out the ball brushed Geyoro’s arm before she volleyed it in, so that’s fair enough.
Grace Geyoro gets her fourth goal of the tournament, scoring from 0.001 yards after excellent play by Cascarino and then Mateo. Her cross hit a defender and looped towards goal, and Geyoro reacted quickest to volley it in.
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GOAL! Iceland 0-2 France (Geyoro 88)
It’s all over now.
87 min One last change for Iceland: Erin Jensen replaces Gudny Arnadottir.
86 min Cascarino has a chance to shoot from the edge of the area but takes one touch too many.
84 min “On her first start in the tournament,” begins Matt Dony, and I think we all know where this is going, “I’ve been impressed with how calm Malard has seemed on the surface, even though she must be absolutely buzzing underneath. Like a, ah, you can fill in the rest.”
83 min A France corner is spilled by Sigurdardottir, which leads to a brief but desperate scramble before Vilhjalmsdottir hacks the ball to safety.
81 min A change for Iceland - Amanda Jacobsen Andradottir replaces Albertsdottir.
81 min The dangerous Cascarino dances away from a defender and thrashes a cross shot that is beaten away by the diving Sigurdadottir.
79 min A change for France: Ouleymata Sarr replaces the goalscorer Melvine Malard, who has probably done enough to start Saturday’s quarter-final.
77 min: Just wide from Thorvaldsdottir! That was so close an outstanding equaliser for Iceland. Thorvaldsdottir controlled a long ball on the edge of the D, wrestled Tounkara aside and whistled a left-footed shot fractionally wide of the right-hand post.
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76 min Cascarino lays the ball back to Mateo, whose stinging shot from the edge of the area is well blocked.
75 min It’s still Italy 0-1 Belgium in Manchester, which means Iceland need a two-goal swing if they are to reach the quarter-finals. At this stage, for all their admirable endeavour, it looks pretty unlikely.
74 min “Matt Dony’s Malard jokes are simply steaming through this feed aren’t they...” asks Claire, presumably rhetorically.
72 min Cascarino fouls the impressive Vilhjalmsdottir on the left wing. Vilhjalmsdottir takes the free-kick herself, and Peyraud-Magnin punches away a little unconvincingly. She’s looked vulnerable at set pieces all night.
70 min: Cooling break
NO GOAL! Iceland 0-1 France
Iceland’s quarter-final dream is not over. Malard was offside, needlessly so, when she turned Karchaoui’s low cross into an open net.
Updated
GOAL! Iceland 0-2 France (Malard 68)
Iceland’s quarter-final dream is over.
67 min: Geyoro hits the post! The substitute Grace Geyoro, who scored a hat-trick in the first game against Italy, hits a shot that takes a big deflection off Viggosdottir and thumps off the near post.
65 min “After an effective first half, France’s attack has been much more subdued in the second,” says Matt Dony. “Still, I don’t think it’ll bother Malard. Like water off a duck’s back.”
64 min Vilhjalmsdottir is booked for pulling somebody back, don’t ask me who.
63 min Iceland need a two-goal swing to reach to the quarter-finals: either two goals for themselves in this game, or an equaliser here and another for Italy against Belgium. If both games are drawn, Iceland will go through.
62 min Two more changes for France. Sakina Karchaoui and Grace Geyoro replace the excellent Selma Bacha and Sandie Toletti.
61 min Two changes for Iceland: Svava Gudmundsdottir and Gunnhildur Jonsdottir replace Sveindis Jonsdottir and the captain Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir.
60 min: Chance for Iceland! Gisladottir’s inswinging corner tempts Peyraud-Magnin from her line again. She doesn’t get there and Thorvaldsdottir, fighting her way through the crowd, heads just wide of the far post.
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59 min Jonsdottir, who seems to be okay to continue, wins a corner for Iceland. They have been more enterprising in the second half.
56 min Albertsdottir runs at Torrent, cuts inside and hits a rising drive that is held spectacularly to her right by the flying Peyraud-Magnin. It was a camera-friendly save, and Albertsdottir’s shot might have been going wide anyway, but it was still a really good effort.
56 min “Malard may have broken her duck, but that Renard is a wily old fox,” says Simon McMahon, high fiving himself in the nearest mirror. “After the onions-on-a-string, try the moules et frites.”
55 min: Baltimore hits the bar! A second France goal would surely finish Iceland off. Baltimore played a beautiful one-two with Cascarino (I think) and hit a shot that deflected off Viggosdottir before looping over Sigurdardottir and onto the top of the crossbar.
53 min Vilhjalmsdottir accuses Renard of diving. Renard pushes her away and the two have an exchange of views. The referee settles for words rather than cards.
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51 min Sveindis Jonsdottir is struggling with what looks like a muscle injury. She’d be a big loss for Iceland.
GOAL! Italy 0-1 Belgium (De Caigny 49)
Tinne De Caigny has blasted Belgium into the lead in Manchester. This is very bad news for Iceland, who now need to score to have any chance of going through to the last eight.
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49 min A very quiet start to the second half.
46 min Peep peep! France get the second half under way.
Two changes for France at half-time. Delphine Cascarino and Ella Palis are on for Diani and Bilbault.
Half-time reading
Half time: Iceland 0-1 France
Peep peep! Iceland trail to Melvine Malard’s clinical finish after 44 seconds, but as things stand (Italy 0-0 Belgium) they are going through to the quarter-finals. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
45 min Three minutes of added time.
43 min The increasingly influential Jonsdottir wins another corner on the left. This time Peyraud-Magnin plays safe, punching clear rather than trying to catch Gunnarsdottir’s inswinger.
42 min For all France’s excellent attacking play, they haven’t looked totally secure at the back, especially from set pieces.
41 min: Chance for Iceland! Jonsdottir wins a corner for Iceland. The last time they had one, she hit the bar. And this one leads to an equally good chance! Gunnarsdottir’s inswinging corner was fumbled by Peyraud-Magnin, and Thorvaldsdottir volleyed over from six yards. She had very little reaction time and couldn’t sort her feet out quickly enough.
40 min “Just getting warmed up!” is the subject of Matt Dony’s email, which sounds very ominous.
“Completely agree with you at 24mins,” he writes. “Malard’s taken to this tournament like a duck to water.”
38 min Thorvaldsdottir is booked for a lunging foul on Bilbault.
37 min Possession percentage so far: Iceland 43-57 France.
35 min Iceland are starting to get frustrated. Sveindis Jonsdottir waves her arms in irritation after a pass towrds her goes straight out of play.
32 min Vilhjalmsdottir, Iceland’s best attacker so far, is fouled 45 yards from goal on the right. Gisladottir’s free-kick is unusually poor, straight into the arms of Peyraud-Magnin.
31 min Malard makes another superb run behind the defence, but this time she can’t control an awkward ball from Baltimore.
29 min Mateo’s shot bobbles through to Sandra Sigurdardottir.
28 min Iceland are struggling to live with France, and at the moment their best hope of qualification looks like a 0-0 draw in the other game.
25 min: Cooling break Can’t they just call it a drinks break.
24 min Malard makes a brilliant run behind the defence to receive Toletti’s penetrative pass. She controls it on the run and then spanks a half-volley over the bar on the turn. The flag went up subsequently, though replays showed Malard was onside.
Malard, starting her first game in this tournament, is making a compelling case to be included in the XI for the quarter-final on Saturday.
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21 min It was Viggosdottir who cleared off the line after Baltimore got in front of Gudny Arnadottir to meet a dangerous cross from the right by Diani (I think).
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20 min: Off the line! France come so close to making it 2-0, and I’ll tell you exactly what happened as soon they show a bloody reply.
18 min “Nice to see Malard has broken her duck for the tournament,” winks Matt Dony. “I’m here all week! Try the onions-on-a-string!”
17 min As things stand - it’s 0-0 in the other game - Iceland are going through by virtue of scoring more goals in a mini-league with Italy and Belgium.
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16 min France are moving the ball so smoothly in attacking areas. Malard and Baltimore look particularly lively.
15 min From the resulting corner, Renard heads a few yards wide. That was a decent chance, certainly for her.
14 min: Just wide from Baltimore! A loose ball runs to Baltimore, 17 yards from goal. She hits a low first-time shot and Viggosdottir deflects it past the post. Vital defending.
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13 min The Iceland fans have started the thunderclaps. And why not.
12 min After more slick interplay, Malard has a low shot superbly blocked by the stretching Ingibjorg Sigurdardottir. She looks really dangerous.
11 min: Sveindis Jonsdottir hits the bar! That was a really good chance for Iceland. A deep, inswinging corner from the left was met by Jonsdottir, whose header clattered off the top of the crossbar.
10 min Gunnarsdottir appeals for a penalty after running into Renard in the area. No.
9 min Tounkara hammers a crossfield pass out to Baltimore on the left. She scurries infield, plays a one-two with Malard and shoots wide of the near post from a tight angle. The shot was a bit optimistic but it was a fine move.
8 min The goal aside, Iceland have started the game well. They don’t look overawed by France.
6 min Good play from Vilhjalmsdottir, who beats Bilbault easily in midfield but then rifles wide from 25 yards.
4 min “Surely it’s ‘with’ Rob,” says Brendan Large of my disappointment at 6.58pm, “but I’m not sure either. I am as disappointed as you that this question is so taxing and I am not sure of the answer. I’ve done Wordle for like 125 days on the trot; this, I presumed, meant I was a legend of the English language.”
2 min As things stand, and I can’t believe I’m using that phrase after only two minutes, Iceland are still going through.
Malard started the move with a stylish flick to Mateo, 40 yards from goal. She scurried to the edge of the area and gave the ball back to Malard, who slid it carefully into the corner with her left foot.
GOAL! Iceland 0-1 France (Malard 1)
Melvine Malard puts France ahead after 44 seconds!
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1 min Peep peep! Iceland get the match under way. They’re in their stylish blue strip; France are wearing white.
The captains, Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir and Wendie Renard, embace warmly in the centre circle. It’s time for action.
“Iceland hasn’t had many signature moments of success at team sports,” writes Kári Tulinius. “The two greatest are the silver medal at handball at the 2008 Olympics, and reaching the quarterfinals at Euro 2016. The nation that stopped us from going one better was, in both cases, France. Like every Icelander, I’m hoping that third time’s the charm and France will, somehow, lose to us tonight.”
The players walk out of the tunnel, into the Rotherham oven. It’s ferociously hot, around 35C, so the game is likely to be a bit two-paced.
🇮🇸 Fans in the building 🇫🇷@90min_Football | #ISLFRA | #WEURO2022 pic.twitter.com/7Ibh77MSKI
— Girls on the Ball (@GirlsontheBall) July 18, 2022
We’re 48 hours away from the big one: England v Spain. Here’s Karen Carney on the challenges of playing against a team who keep the ball for fun.
This match is inextricably linked with Italy v Belgium. We’ll have - IS THIS SPOILER ALERT CLEAR ENOUGH - goal updates from that game in this blog, but you can follow it in full with Luke McLaughlin.
If you want the lowdown on the players involved tonight, this interactive guide is custom designed for your needs.
Team news
Three changes for Iceland, six for France. Let’s start with Iceland: Gudny Arnadottir, Ingibjorg Sigurdardottir and Agla Maria Albertsdottir replace Elisa Vidarsdottir, Gunnhildur Yrsa Jonsdottir and Gudrun Arnadottir.
France, already through, have swapped half of their side. Marian Torrent, Aissatou Tounkara, Sandie Toletti, Melvine Malard, Selma Bacha and Sandy Baltimore come in for Sakini Karchaoui, Grace Geyoro, Griedge Mbock Bathy, Delphine Cascarino, Eve Perisset and the injured Marie-Antoinette Katoto.
And if there isn’t at least one error in all that, I’ll be disappointed with myself. In myself? With myself? Never mind typos in the list of team changes; I’m disappointed in/with myself for not knowing whether I should be disappointed in or with myself.
Iceland (4-3-3) S Sigurdardottir; Gudny Arnadottir, Viggosdottir, I Sigurdardottir, Gisladottir; S Gunnarsdottir, Vilhjalmsdottir, Brynjarsdottir; S Jonsdottir, Thorvaldsdottir, Albertsdottir.
Substitutes: I Gunnarsdottir, Sveinbjornsdottir, Atladottir, E Vidarsdottir, G Jonsdottir, Magnusdottir, Johannsdottir, Jensen, Gudrun Arnadottir, Gunnlaugsdottir, Gudmundsdottir, Andradottir.
France (4-3-3) Peyraud-Magnin; Torrent, Tounkara, Renard, Bacha; Toletti, Bilbault, Mateo; Diani, Malard, Baltimore.
Substitutes: Chavas, Lerond, Palis, Karchaoui, Geyoro, Dali, Sarr, Mbock Bathy, D. Cascarino, Perisset, Cissoko.
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Iceland v France in Rotherham. We’re all friends here, so let us speak frankly: this could get complicated. Iceland, Italy and Belgium are competing for the final quarter-final place at Euro 2020, and there are umpteen permutations.
I’ve already written about this in The Fiver, our free and spasmodically funny teatime email, so I may as well cut and plagiarise myself.
France are through as group winners, and will play the Netherlands, the holders, in a humdinger of a quarter-final on Saturday. The other three teams are competing for the right to probably, no offence, lose to Sweden at Leigh Sports Village on Friday. That’s kind of by the by: for all three teams, but especially Belgium, qualifying for the quarter-finals is an end in itself.
Iceland have two points, Belgium and Italy one. Iceland will be through if they beat France, but that’s unlikely. If it doesn’t happen, either of Belgium or Italy will go through with a win. Where it really starts to swell the noggin is if – and this is hardly beyond the realms – Iceland lose and the other two draw. In that scenario, a 0-0 would put Iceland through (don’t ask us to explain, this is hard enough as it is) and a 2-2 draw or higher would put Belgium through.
If it finishes 1-1, Belgium and Iceland would be split by overall goal difference, then goals scored, then a sudden-death spelling bee in which players on each side have to spell the word “canicular”. Confused? Splendid. Now all we need are the three digits on the back of the card.
One difficulty for Iceland is that they don’t know what result they need. They could lose and go through or draw and go out. There must also be a bit of frustration that they aren’t already through, as they led against Belgium and Italy before drawing both games 1-1.
Iceland may well benefit from some French rotation tonight, though even a France B team – Melvine Malard, Selma Bacha and the rest – would be extremely difficult to beat.
Some players will always be irreplaceable. France have cruised into the last eight, as expected, but they suffered a serious blow when Marie-Antoinette Katoto was ruled out of the rest of the tournament with a serious knee injury. Ouleymata Sarr came off the bench to replace her against Belgium, and it will be interesting to see how France configure their attack tonight.
Oh, just one more thing: it’s 35C in Rotherham.
Kick off 8pm.
🏟 New York Stadium 😍
— UEFA Women's EURO 2022 (@WEURO2022) July 18, 2022
🇮🇸🆚🇫🇷 Which player are you most looking forward to see? 💪#WEURO2022 | #ISL | #FRA pic.twitter.com/N6vB51J9uV
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