Full-time: France 2-1 Romania
Mission accomplished by France, who blended slickness and jitters throughout but were uplifted at the last by Payet, their best player on the night and the scorer of a superb winning goal. That’s a nice start for the hosts to build on, even if plenty of improvement will be needed for them to win here on July 10.
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90+3 min: Matuidi releases Sissoko. He could announce his arrival in stye here ... but instead blasts a 20-yard shot wide.
France substitution: Payet ambles off to tumultuous acclaim and sudden national hero status. His replacements wanders on. From the sublime to Moussa Sissoko.
WHAT A GOAL! France 2-1 Romania (Payet 89)
He was the man of the match even before he received a clever short pass from Kanté at the edge of the area - and jinked to his left and curled a sumptuous shot into the top corner! This time last year it didn’t even look like he’d be picked for the tournament, now it looks like he’s won the opening match with a sumptuous goal!
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85 min: With a cheeky flash of skill Alibec wrongfoots two Frenchman and bears down on their defence. He briefly considers letting fly from 25 yards but instead flips the ball wide to Stancu, who loses it.
83 min: ... or for Grigore to bound offside and let them off.
83 min: Kanté takes down Torje, giving Romania a freekick mid-way inside the French half. Another chance for the hosts to show their setpiece defending prowess...
Romania substitution: Torje on for Popa.
81 min: Martial slaloms in from the left, then rolls the ball to Giroud at the edge of the area. Giroud, holding off the defender behind him, tees up Martial for a shot. But it lacks power and poses no trouble to the keeper.
80 min: There’s audible nerves all around the Stade de France, with both sets of fans knowing victory or a miserable defeat are both still very possible. Meanwhile in Marseille, just look what England fans are up to. Some people just shouldn’t be allowed out of the house.
78 min: Popa booked for pulling back Payet.
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Here’s a curious move: Deschamps has introduced Martial for ... Pogba, who looks momentarily perplexed but then accepts the decision and jogs off, shaking hands with the manager when he reaches the sideline and commissioning a new haircut: Pogbench, perhaps.
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76 min: Kanté overhits an intended pass to Sagna, and a France attack fizzles out.
75 min: Coman has made an impact, and France are on the rise again. Coman and Payet combine nicely on the left before releasing the overlapping Evra, who bangs in a good first-time cross on the run. Giroud tries to sweep it into the net from eight yards but Chiriches beats him to do it bravely.
Romania substitution: Chipciu on for Stanciu.
71 min: Romania aren’t merely hanging on for a draw: they know France’s defence is there to be exploited. Alibec bustles his way down the left and stabs in a cross that, once again, is dealt with shoddily. No direct punishment, but Romania now have a corner, and France haven’t been defending them well all night. OK, so they clear this one.
69 min: Giroud booked for inadvertently clumping Pintili with an elbow as the pair jumped for a ball. Pintili looks dazed.
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68 min: Canny interplay between Coman and Pogba before the latter lifts a nice ball into Giroud. The striker shows good strength to hold off Chiriches and then roll past him ... and fall to the floor.
France substitution: Coman on for Griezmann, who just didn’t look sharp.
GOAL! France 1-1 Romania (Stancu pen, 65)
Stancu dupes Lloris and curls a low shot to the keeper’s left while the keeper leans to the right. France’s lead lasted nine minutes. So what will they do now, rebel or fold?
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PENALTY TO ROMANIA!
Evra has been a liability all game and has just taken down Stanciu with a senseless tackle.
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63 min: Payet delivered flights over a freekick from the right. Giroud gets the jump on the entire Romanian defence and stretches out his left leg to hook the ball back across the face of goal. But Rat scurries back to clear before Pogba pounces.
Romania substitution: Alibec for Andone.
60 min: Sagna hurls himself in front of Rat to cut out a cross but concede a corner. Stanciu delivers an inswinger, and yet again France’s defending is feeble. But Andone heads over.
GOAL! France 1-0 Romania (Giroud 58)
And that’s why he’s started! Giroud outjumps the goalkeeper to meet a delightfully floated cross by Payet and head into the net! Moments prior to that Tatarusanu made an excellent save to turn away a ferocious volley by Pogba after more wizardry from Payet, but the keeper should have done much better in the challenge with Giroud.
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54 min: There’s a strong invisible presence on the pitch: it’s the hole where Karim Benzema would have been if not for, well, whatever.
52 min: France have awoken! At least Payet has. He threads a neat pass through to Giroud, who shoots on the run ... but scuffs it badly, offering the keeper an easy save.
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50 min: France look like they took some sedatives during the break. They were nervous and scatty at times in the first half, but they’ve been downright sluggish for all of this one so far. What’s the Romanian for Pape Bouba Diop?
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48 mins: It’s been a great start to the second period by Romania. Pintili does well in midfield to hold of Pogba before playing the ball wide on the right. It’s then played back infield to Stanciu, who clips a lovely pass over to Stancu. The striker, having eluded Rami and Koscielny again, kills the ball on his chest and then tries to volley it goalwards from 14 yards while falling backwards. But he fires the shot a couple of yards wide of the far post.
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46 min: Romania get the second half going, knowing they may be 45 minutes away from a fine start to their tournament. And that could mean a victory rather than just a draw. Andone certainly believes: through sheer will power and he barges his way past Koscielny and almost past Rami, too, and into the box. But Rami just about holds him off and clears the danger.
“It’s good to see the relatively unknown Romanians holding their own - so far - against their star-studded hosts,” hurrahs Peter Oh. “It’s the so-called small teams such as Romania and their Raț-to-Chiricheș stories that make for some of the most compelling stories of big tournaments.”
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Half-time: France 0-0 Romania
His team have had some lovely flourishes but Deschamps will be frustrated at half-time because they have failed to take some decent chances - Griezmann and Giroud both guilty - and they are distinctly brittle in defence. Romania have been stretched close to breaking point a couple of times but they, too, may be frustrated not to be in front, Stancu having had the best chance of the game only to be thwarted by a brilliant reflex save by Lloris. Martial should be introduced soon.
Half-time reading:
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45 min: That’s a better delivery from Payet! From a corner he finds Giroud on the penalty spot. Again the striker did well to make space, but again he failed to find the target.
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44 min: Rat booked for thrusting his foot into Giroud’s chest while trying to intercept a bouncing ball. That gives Payet a chance to deliver another freekick from wide, but again his usual precision is missing. There’s a slight but important scruffiness to France, as if they haven’t quite attuned to the intensity of a competitive match having played nothing but friendlies for two years.
43 min: Payet stands over a freekick way out by the left touchline. It’s a terrible delivery but Romania make a meal of clearing it. They are reprieved when Pogba fails to make a proper connection with a half-volley from 10 yards.
40 min: A strong, cutting run from deep by Matuidi, who colludes with Payet to take out a whole row of opponents with a one-two. Matuidi then plays the ball wide to Giroud, who had peeled off to the left-hand side of the box. The striker attempts to chip a return pass to Matuidi, who had continued his run, but it’s intercepted.
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38 min: More sloppiness at the back by France, again by Evra. His goofing allowed Romania to hoik a pass forward. Andone scampered on to it, beating Koscileny and Rami for pace. But after leaping to take the bouncing ball on his chest, he gets a clatter from Koscielny and goes down in a heap. It should be a penalty! But the ref saw nothing awry. Fortune favours the hosts.
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36 min: Payet hurtles down the right and fires a low cross towards Griezmann, who, running on to it at speed, cracks a first-time shot inches wide!
36 min: If things do change, it won’t necessarily be in France’s favour: they still look shaky at the back whenever Romania venture forward. And it’s not just the centrebacks, as Sagna and, in particular, Evra are being bypassed quite easily.
34 min: The pace is slowing a bit, because Romania are clogging up play and frustrating their hosts. Expect Giroud to be replaced by Martial of Coman early in the second half if things don’t change.
31 min: Chiriches gets the first booking of the tournament for lunging through Giroud from behind.
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29 min: Don’t listen to anyone who tries to put a tag on France’s formation. They’re a freewheeling outfit who are all about movement: Payet, for instance, is popping up all over the shop, always to dangerous effect. Deschamps is putting a lot of trust in his players talent and cunning. That’s how it should be.
27 min: After prolonged probing, France feed Pogba, who tries to blem a shot into the top corner from 25 yards. Never looked like coming off.
25 min: Rami turns playmaker, playing a splendid pass from half-way through to Giroud. A faster striker would have been in on goal, but speed is not among Giroud’s attributes, and Romania are able to make another last-ditch clearance.
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24 min: Sapunaru skins Evra with a lovely piece of skill, but Evra then barges him over. No foul, reckons the ref, who’s evidently decided to allow forceful challenges, which is good.
22 min: Payet tries to send Griezmann through with a slick low ball from deep. Chiriches stretches out a leg and just manages to intercept. That’s the second time Payet has come close to releasing Griezmann, and you sense he’ll spring him successfully soon.
20 min: Popa tries to jink his way past Evra down the left and reassert Romania’s attacking threat. But Evra shunts him out of the way and takes back the ball.
17 min: Kanté is putting on quite a show: every time a Romanian gets the ball, Kanté is on the scene immediately, like a cop who’s been tipped off to a bank heist. He’s incredible.
15 min: Pogba rips Romania open with a superb pass from deep behind Rats. Sagna runs on to it and curls in a low cross towards Griezmann, who fails to apply a sure touch .. but the defender, taken by surprise, only spoons the ball up into the air, and Griezmann adjusts quickly to get to it and head towards goal from six yards .... but it bounces off the post and out!
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12 min: France are working up a head of steam now. Griezmann and Payet are getting plenty of the ball and looking inventive every time. Pogba is starting to come to the fore too, but his touch has been just a tad out so far.
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10 min: Corner to France after a 25-yard shot by Griezman gets deflected wide. Payet delivers but fails to beat the first man. But France regain it and knock it back to Payet on the left. After a flourish of trickery he sticks a nice cross up to Giroud at the near post. The striker had given his marker the slip but sends his header wide. Classic Giroud.
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8 min: Romania are spanking the ball about confidently when they get it, and with no little ambition. But not with quite enough alacrity on this occasion, as Stanciu had the ball nicked off him by a backtracking Griezmann.
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6 min: France have a bit of possession with which to settle themselves down. But Romania are working with diligence and dynamism to prevent the hosts from making inroads forward.
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4 min: There’s the French defensive vulnerability we were all talking about! Koscielny and Rami got in the muddle to concede a corner and then France’s setpiece failing were exposed by a near-post flick on from the corner. Lloris came to the rescue by making a wonderful save to deby Stancu, who tried to prod the ball into the net from three yards! The ensuing corner brings another chance for the visitors, Andone sending an arcing header onto the roof of the net.
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3 min: Rat attracts boos from the home crowd by taking his time with a throw-in. But he eventually flings it to a team-mate, who helps it on to Pintili. He draws Romania level on the all-important shots stats, whacking it way off target from 25 yards.
1 min: C’est parti! France show their attacking attentions by banging off a shot after 31 seconds. Matuidi didn’t catch it properly but he can take encouragement from the fact that he was able find enough space in the Romanian box to hit an effort goalwards on the spin. Easy save for the keeper, though.
Not all of the eyes of the footballing world are on Pairs, you know ...
Keeper Rory Crowther joins the Lilywhites for 16/17 @WPL_Official season https://t.co/Iov3h7tqhz pic.twitter.com/y8ar9BzCHt
— Rhyl Football Club (@rhylfc) June 10, 2016
Ah, La Marseillaise, the king of anthems, ironically enough. And what a rendition it gets here! All the French players and staff, and by the sounds of it everyone in Paris, belts it out like they want the whole world to hear it. Well done lads, now show us your football skills.
Speaking of solemnity, here come the national anthems. Judging by the vocal accompaniment to the visitors’ one, there are plenty of Romanian fans in the Stade de France.
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A fly-pass by French fighter plane, spewing colourful smoke to try to keep thing as light as fighter planes can, completes the opening ceremony. Chapeau for keeping it short, too.
The appearance of David Guetta brings a tremendous roar from the crowd, and that’s his cue to play a medley of poptastic ditties while the dancing continues. There’s no obvious theme to any of this, other than light entertainment, which is fine really: far too much solemnity in football these days, and maybe carefree lightness is exactly the tone to set amid all the heavier stuff going on before and around this tournament.
Now a jaunty remix Edit Piaf’s La Vie en Rose is resounding around the stadium, while the cast assembled by Lewis Carroll continues to cavort around the pitch.
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Opening ceremony
The Stade de France is decked out like a lavish French garden, albeit one with dancers dressed as candyfloss, daisies and lips. Oh, and they’re just been joined by another troupe to do the cancan. Feel free to join in at home.
“I’m almost delirious with excitement looking forward to Wales’ first game tomorrow,” dribbles Ianto. Could I ask English fans how it’s possible to get bored with this kind of thing?” You haven’t been paying attention to recent tournament, have you?
“In Helsinki, the the locals are happily going about their business in the late evening sunshine, seemingly untroubled by Finland’s umpteenth non-appearance in any sort of finals,” hollers Charles Antaki. “When I mention this in company, I’m loudly reminded that they won the ice-hockey world cup the other year, thank you very much; and what exactly have England done recently? Fair comment.” Now hold on, according to some of your compatriots in Marseille, England won a recent world war.
Lee Dixon and Emmanuel Petit are talking to each other on ITV about the role of Koscielny as the leader of France’s defence. But Slaven Bilic wants to finish the point he was making first so deftly turns up the volume of his voice to teach the some respect. Authoritatively done. More authoritatively, indeed, than many of Koscielny’s performances for France: he’s a good player, for sure, but he is particularly rash when playing for his country and tends to give away a lot of oafish freekicks. And that can be costly, because France don’t defend freekicks very well.
Wonder what Vlad Chiriches has been up to since slinking out of Spurs? Here’s the skinny. And here are short profiles of the entire Romania squad.
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“Between the fact that it will take a fortnight to reduce the teams from 24 to 16, and England’s selection policy being so skewed to to players from the richest clubs that it’s beginning to resemble the Oxbridge admissions policy, I find myself looking forward to this tournament less than any other in my lifetime,” drones Shaun Wilkinson. “Anything that you can think of that would cheer me up?” You’re not being tear-gassed in Marseille, so that’s something.
“I’m fired up for this tournament!” bugles Dan Schulwolf. “The fact that the group stages in the Euros may be tedious, negative affairs contested by knackered players hasn’t bothered me yet, despite the fact that many of the Copa America games have fit that stereotype of tournament play to a T. I guess for now, I dare to dream.”
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In a tournament in which so little is predictable, there are still some persistent staples: news seeping in from Marseille is that some England fans are again fighting, breaking stuff and generally doing their utmost to bring everyone down. Some people just can’t handle freedom.
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France have named their team (below) and there are no surprises. Giroud starts at centre-forward with Payet and Greizmann either side of him. Martial and Coman will be introduced from the bench if France need a goal or feel like showing off. The inclusion of Kanté in the place vacated by the injured Diarra, is the wisest move: not only will he protect a defence that needs it and try to shut down Romania’s tricky schemer Nicolae Stanciu, but he’ll also give Pogba more freedom to go forward. Pogba hasn’t been great for France recently so expecting him to impact this tournament the way Platini and Zidane did in the past may be too much: after all, he’s only 23, Zidane had barely been capped at the same age and, what’s more, he wasn’t actually brilliant in the ‘98 World Cup even if he did head two goals in the final. But this France team may not need Pogba to be in top form: Payet and Greizmann can sparkle plenty.
Preamble
Hello and welcome: it’s showtime! After 266 qualifying matches, several weeks of rehearsals and a million selection squabbles, the 2016 European Championships is kicking off in Paris and it promises to be a lot of fun. The tournament’s cast has never been so big and while expansion to 24 participants means watering down the quality, drama is still guaranteed. There’s no telling how things will pan out over the next month. If the stars are properly aligned by Roy Hodgson, even England have an earthly. A competition with no flawless team looks perfectly unpredictable. A handful of countries can realistically aspire to outright victory – including Poland and Austria – but four sides start with stronger credentials than the rest: the holders (Spain), the world champions (Germany), the highest-ranked team (Belgium) and the hosts, France, who get things under way this evening against Romania, who were unbeaten during the qualifiers and only conceded two goals. They even kept Kyle Lafferty quiet.
France, of course, won the last two major tournaments that they staged – the 1984 European Championships and the 1998 World Cup – and that’s no easy feat, as evidenced by the fact that it has been nearly four decades since any other host won either competition (Argentina ‘78). But of course it was much more than home advantage that brought those victories to France: on both occasions Les Bleus had bloody good teams. Can we say the same about them now? Well that’s what we’re here to find out. They sure have some exciting ingredients but they’re all in attack: their defence is vulnerable, although being able to field Laurent Koscielny and Adil Rami is actually an indication of France’s strength in depth in central defence: what other country would be able to pick a duo as decent as that after losing five players (Varane, Sakho, Laporte, Mathieu and Zouma) who would have been picked ahead of at least one of them? And looking at the calibre of attacking players that Deschamps has chosen to omit (Ben Arfa, Lacazette, Gameiro...) gives an indication of the awesome strike power that they he have called up: if Roman’s defence can stifle the likes of Greizmann, Payet, Pogba, Martial, Comon and potential golden boot winner Giroud, then they really are exceptional. Can’t see it myself, mind. Then again, France know all too well what it’s like to be shocked in their opening match, thanks to Senegal.
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Teams:
France: Lloris; Sagna, Rami, Koscileny, Evra; Matuidi, Pogba, Kanté; Payet, Giroud, Greizmann
Romania: Tătăruşanu; Săpunaru, Grigore, Chiricheş, Raţ; Hoban, Pintilii; Stanciu, Popa, Stancu; Andone
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hun)
For Barney Ronay’s take on tonight’s opening game, click here.
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