Wednesday’s match between France and Iceland in Saint-Denis, the fourth and last quarterfinal of Euro 2016, figured to set up very nicely for an Iceland team that had already captured the hearts of the watching soccer world.

Iceland’s qualities – organized, hard working, dangerous in isolated moments – were well established. Somehow able to name an unchanged lineup for the fifth straight game, there was never a question of the underdogs being fazed.

More than that, though, there it was hard to foresee France blowing Iceland away. The French had – all tournament long – been plenty hospitable to outgunned underdogs looking to hang around.

First it was Romania in the opening game, when France needed a late wonder goal from Dimitri Payet to take all three points. They needed an even later intervention from Antoine Griezmann to beat Albania in their second game in Marseilles.

France never did get a breakthrough against Switzerland, and they trailed the Republic of Ireland for more than 50 minutes in the Round of 16 before Griezmann came to the rescue.

It’s been a difficult tournament for the hosts, who hadn’t scored a single first half goal going into Sunday’s game. Didier Deschamps has tried no fewer than three formations so far, feuding along the way with star midfielder Paul Pogba and being criticized from all corners for his team’s haltingly stilted play.

Iceland had been great, but they’d also victimized underwhelming and underperforming teams. It was Portugal first, then Austria, and then, of course, England.

France might not have ripe for the picking, exactly, but there was little to suggest that Iceland wouldn’t have a shot.

As it turned out, they didn’t have a prayer.

France, who had led for just 38 minutes over their first four games, were ahead after just twelve minutes on Sunday. It was 2-0 after twenty minutes, and 4-0 after a resounding flourish right at the end of the first half. It’d finish 5-2.

This time, Deschamps wouldn’t need to make any halftime changes. Without N’Golo Kante due to suspension, he got his tactics right from the start.

Not that Griezmann gave him much choice. The Golden Boot leader all but demanded that he play underneath Olivier Giroud after his match-winning turn against Ireland, and he didn’t disappoint.

Griezmann was involved on three of France’s first four games. Along with the phenomenal Payet and a rejuvenated Pogba, the hosts finally accessed the free-flowing football that made them pre-tournament favorites.

Sometimes with the great teams, it just takes one small tweak – one change – to go from off-color to irresistible. For Germany at the last World Cup, it was moving Phillip Lahm to fullback and inserting Sami Khedira in midfield after the Round of 16. The rest, including a quarterfinal win over the French, was history.

Now, ahead of another showdown against the Germans, Deschamps must hope the same is true for his team. The pressure France to win this tournament, just as Les Blues did on home soil in 1984 and 1998, is immense.

The team – pound-for-pound the tournament’s most talented, even after losing no fewer than four would-be starters at center back before the competition started – has struggled with the weight of expectation.

It’s not a new phenomenon. The French have a tendency to eat their own. Both Griezmann and Payet were told they wouldn’t make it at home before flourishing abroad, while Giroud – who was excellent – has been booed mercilessly by the home support.

France is always skeptical. But one look at the reception that the 1998 team got when they won the World Cup in sumptuous style against Brazil tells you that the country really just wants to fall in love with its team.

Germany will provide a stiff test in the semifinal, but they’ll enter the Stade Velodrome on Thursday hobbled and beatable.

Mats Hummels is suspended, while Mario Gomez – the team’s only true striker – is out for the tournament injured. Sami Khedira is also likely to miss out in midfield, with Bastian Schweinsteiger a doubt as well.

Even at full strength in this tournament, Jogi Low’s side hasn’t been overly impressive. The French, who haven’t beaten Germany in 58 years, might recall that next week.

For a team that considers defense to be its weakest point, this isn’t a bad time to be getting the Germans. Thomas Muller has been out of sorts – a miss from the spot in the shootout against Italy another worrying moment – while Gomez is a big loss.

Though they’ve already started to talk reverently about how Germany is the favorite to advance, France has no reason not to feel confident. They’re the team in the ascendancy.

Iceland, meanwhile, will always be remembered fondly for the pageantry and passion they brought to this championship. Even Deschamps wryly admitted after the game that he was happy to see them bag a pair of second half goals.

It’s been a tournament for the upstarts. Not just Iceland, but Wales, who are still alive, along with Italy, Ireland, and Northern Ireland. The favorites haven’t inspired much joy.

Sunday night, however, that began to change. France played the best half we’ve seen yet in the competition. In Griezmann, Payet, and Giroud, they have the players in first, second, and third in the Golden Boot race.

They’d taken a backseat at their own tournament for the longest time, but now, it appears that France – as it always eventually does when hosting – is ready to make its move.