Reykjavik (AFP)

The Blues have painstakingly beaten Iceland Friday in Reykjavik Friday, a late penalty Olivier Giroud (66th) that brings them closer to qualifying for Euro-2020, before the clash against the Turks Monday in Saint-Denis.

The difficult victory gained on the small island of the North Atlantic allows the men of Didier Deschamps to stay ahead of group H with 18 points, tied with Turkey, which prevailed late in front of Albania (10 pts ).

A success Monday against the Turks at the Stade de France would qualify the Blues for the Euro-2020 even before the last two games in November.

But how difficult it was Friday ...

Raphaël Varane had urged his "to bring a conquering state of mind" in the Icelandic capital, where the locals had not lost in qualifying (Euro and World confused) since June 2013.

But the words of the tricolor captain flew far away in the Icelandic sky, like the smoke of the volcano Eyjafjöll ...

Certainly, the French team monopolized the ball and tried his luck, but the Icelandic bloc has, as usual, proposed sufficient strength to stop the initiatives of Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud and Kingsley Coman. And the Blues have rarely been dangerous.

It is even the 41st nation ranked Fifa that could have created the surprise, without a nice relaxing Steve Mandanda (30), holder in the absence of the injured Hugo Lloris.

The victory finally came to around thirty minutes from the end of the match, after Griezmann collapsed into the box after contact. Giroud rushed to recover the ball and converted the sentence from a cross shot to the ground.

The fetish striker Didier Deschamps, tenured by the coach despite a glaring lack of playing time for a month with Chelsea, is now 37 goals in selection, 4 less than Michel Platini, the second best scorer of the history of the Blues.

This goal surely brought a lot of joy to the ex-Montpellier. It allows especially the team of France to push a big sigh of relief before the revenge on Monday against their Turkish executioners, those who martyred them in June in the fury of Konya.

- Clapping and geese -

In Reykjavik on Friday, the famous clapping of Icelandic fans, picked up by some 9,000 fans on Friday, was much less intimidating than the dante reception reserved for the French in Turkey this summer.

And on the pitch at Laugardalsvöllur Stadium, flown over by geese and surrounded by an athletics track, two modest side stands, the ocean and the mountains in the background, there was also no comparison between the two. XXL squad of the Blues and their opponents.

The gap seemed all the more glaring as the partners of Gylfi Sigurdsson, the experienced midfielder Everton, were diminished by the absence of many players, including the usual captain Aron Gunnarsson. On the field, however, there was Birkir Bjarnason, the former Aston Villa, currently without a club ...

The Blues also came without several frames, including Lloris, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappé. But at the kickoff, there were still five holders of the final of the World Cup.

N'Golo Kanté was not part of it, diminished by "a little muscle discomfort" according to the tricolor and replaced at the last moment by Moussa Sissoko.

- Hernandez on the bench -

Lucas Hernandez also did not play the match and the news must have pleased Bayern Munich, his club who has plagued all week against the convocation of the defender, with a touch of a knee in recent days.

In his place, Lucas Digne delivered a part without false note. The score could have been more melodious if his shot had hit (37th), if his back pass had been converted by Griezmann (42nd) or if his center had found Giroud (18th).

"Guarantees, we never have football, every game has its truth," Deschamps recalled Thursday.

That of Friday nevertheless confirms an impression of déjà-vu. Far from the Stade de France, the world champions struggle to win when the opposition is a little relieved.

Monday against the Turks, he will still find the good habits at home. The Blues have not lost in Saint-Denis since March 2018.

© 2019 AFP