Remember this was a group of players that had finished above the Netherlands to reach Euro 2016, then drawing with Portugal and emerging unbeaten from its group to reach the last 16 of the tournament before smiting England to inflict one of the most humiliating defeats on a nation that prides itself on its football history and domestic league.
Unfortunately there was nothing epic about the manner of this defeat as Iceland’s cohesiveness steadily ebbed away on a drizzly night in northern Paris.
And this time it was very much Iceland on the end of a smiting.
The game had been preceded by a security alert after police carried out a controlled explosion near the Stade de France, but once the match got under away France quickly assumed almost total control.
When Iceland conceded the first goal — Giroud running clear to collect Blaise Matuidi’s pass before shooting through the legs of Hannes Halldórsson — their fans produced a stirring rendition of their ‘thunder clap’ but halftime was a subdued affair for them.
If Giroud provided the focus for France’s attacks, then Payet and Griezmann were a like a couple of fireflies dancing around him, creating much irritation to the Iceland defense.
It was a Griezmann corner that set up France’s second as Pogba rose powerfully above his markers to send a header past Halldórsson.
Griezmann had a hand in France’s third, teeing up Payet, whose angled shot beat Halldórsson’s dive.
That goal came on 42 minutes and just before the interval, Griezmann waltzed clear before sending a delicate chip over Halldórsson.
Arguably Gylfi Sigurdsson has been Iceland’s best player at this tournament, but the Swansea midfielder struggled to impose his creative influence on game that ran away from his team.
On 56 minutes, Sigurdsson finally found a telling cross from the right and Sigthórsson nipped in to prod the ball past Hugo Lloris.
Almost immediately France restored their four-goal cushion as Payet’s free kick was headed in by Giroud as the Arsenal striker grabbed his fourth goal of the tournament.
Before turning turned pro in 2014 at the age of 30, Halldórsson combined playing as a goalkeeper with his work as a video director and both for him and his teammates a review of this match will prove painful viewing.
In their previous games, Iceland had caused havoc with their set pieces, but that strength rarely came to the fore. True Jón Dadi Bödvarsson had half a chance in the first half that was created by a long throw and Lloris saved a Sverrir Ingason header, but France was never quite troubled in the way England had been.
It was a measure of France’s control of this game that almost immediately France coach Didier Deschamps withdrew Giroud, replacing him with André-Pierre Gignac.
With 10 minutes left Payet was also withdrawn to a huge ovation.
The rain continued to sweep across the Stade de France and suddenly those thousands of Iceland fans discovered that rhythmic clapping.
Perhaps it had an effect on their Iceland team as soon after Bjarnason got on the end of Ari Skúlason’s cross to reduce the deficit to 5-2.
But this was France’s night and Deschamps’ team will now play Germany in Thursday’s semifinal in Marseille, with Wales facing Portugal in Lyon on Wednesday.
After the final whistle went the Iceland team were given one last spine tingling clap — with the French fans joining in as well — before they bid au revoir to Euro 2016.
