France fans turned on by Griezmann magic

Chants of “Allez les bleus!” rang out nationwide across France after the Euro 2016 hosts booked their place in the quarter-finals of the tournament beating Ireland 2-1 in Lyon.

Didier Deschamps men didn’t have it all their way, going a goal-down after conceding a penalty inside the first two minutes before Antoine Griezmann sparked the comeback netting a second half brace.

The Atletico Madrid forward was hailed as a ‘hero’ by some of the French supporters while the Irish appeared gracious in defeat, content with making it to the knockout stages.

Looking ahead, the home fans seem to be eyeing a last-eight clash with England ahead of their match with Iceland.

“It was a good match. The first time (half) was not very good, but this second time (half) was very very good! Vive (Antoine) Griezmann! Griezmann is a hero!” a delighted Le Blues fan gushed.

“The match was very hard. It was a very hard first half, but we (France) changed the game in the second half. It was amazing. We scored two goals easily in the second half, and put on lots of pressure.

“Griezmann saved the team but I think we would have scored even without Griezmann.

“I hope (France play) England because I have tickets for that game. So I hope it’s England. I respect Iceland but would prefer England,” another said as they celebrated the win that put them in the last eight.

“Well, you know… somebody had to get them. Somebody had to get them. It was probably just Ireland’s luck that it would be Ireland that was going to get them. But listen, we done all we could. At the end of the day, we came over and we gave it a shot. That’s it,” an Irish supporter rued.