It was really far from an easy match for France Friday night. Juventus star Pogba was also surprisingly sacrificed to make way for Martial.
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The stringent security measures got their first real test on Thursday when superstar French DJ David Guetta gave a free performance in the fan zone at the foot of the Eiffel Tower where some 80,000 spectators had to pass through two checkpoints.
France’s next challenge at Euro 2016 is a match against Albania on June 15. It was a dummy.
Thousands of fans chose to watch the match at the giant fan zone near the Eiffel Tower, where they could have a picnic on the lawn while watching the action on giant screens after undergoing security checks similar to those at the game venues.
They’re striking for different reasons, but it’s all part of a nationwide discontent as the government tries to change laws regulating working hours and layoffs.
Protected by an unprecedented security operation, the European Championship opened Friday with a reassuringly peaceful showpiece at the Stade de France and the French victory the hosts sought after an anxious build-up to a month of soccer festivities.
The match had everything. He had his chances but wasn’t able to finish them.
France was revelling in a victorious start to the Euro 2016 on Saturday after winning the opening match, but a strike by Air France pilots threatened to disrupt travel for hundreds of thousands of fans.
The incentive to get at least a point on the board early on for some of the lesser fancied teams early in the tournament with a view to a third place knock out qualifying finish means it’s hard to see this weekend’s fixtures passing by without a stalemate. Romania forward Bogdan Stancu slotted in from the penalty spot after a foul by Patrice Evra.
Nicolae Stanciu put the ball on the left side of the keeper as he bent towards the right.
Stancu could have had the Romanians a goal up inside four minutes, if it hadn’t been for a reflex save from Hugo Lloris. Then Dimitri Payet struck with a singular moment of beauty.
Griezmann was desperately unlucky when his low drive looked goalbound before a slight deflection took the ball wide from another sumptuous Payet cut-back and Giroud headed a decent chance over when unmarked from Payet’s corner just before half-time.
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France got Euro 2016 underway with an emphatic 2-1 win over Romania last night, thanks to Dimitri Payet’s sensational strike.
