Uniting in a symbol of defiance and respect, players and fans of the French and English soccer teams delivered a moving display of solidarity at Wembley Stadium at a friendly staged four days after the deadly attacks in Paris.
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Many England fans were seen wearing T-shirts with messages of support while Wembley’s iconic arch was lit up in red, white and blue, with France’s national motto “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite” displayed across the top of the entrance.
It was only after the crowd had joined the Les Fauristes chorus in singing “La Marsellaise”, France’s national anthem, and observing a minute of silence, that the match got under way taking on a clearly festive tone.
The Football Association (FA) and French Football Federation (FFF) confirmed on Saturday the game would take place despite at least 129 people being killed in France’s capital.
Before the match, Lloris indicated that not all the French players were enthusiastic about playing on Tuesday, but accepted the decision. We need to stand tall and stand together in these tough times.
“In this climate of terror, it is important for all of us who represent our country and its diversity to stay united against a horror which has no colour, no religion”, said Diarra in a statement.
France’s Hugo Lloris applauds the fans at the end of the game.
“We played well. We stuck to our game plan and deserved to win”.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said on LBC this morning that police were ready to go in straight away to confront marauding terrorists and that he wants to double the number of armed officers in London from 2,000.
One of the coordinated attacks on Friday had targeted the Stade de France, where President Francois Hollande was in attendance to watch France play Germany. The teams spent the night in the stadium as carnage struck elsewhere.
The cousin of midfielder Lassana Diarra was killed, while the sister of forward Antoine Griezmann managed to escape from the Bataclan concert hall, where 89 people died.
Minutes later and Anthony Martial embarked on a dribble that saw him breeze past Nathaniel Clyne, before testing Hart with a low shot down to his left.
“It was a very poignant game: everything I expected it to be”, said Hodgson.
England manager Roy Hodgson said the warm welcome for the French team, who have generally had the upper hand over England in recent years, was created to show how appalled they were with the events in Paris.
The big screens at the famous London stadium will display the words of “La Marseillaise”, which were also printed on the back of The Sun and Daily Mirror tabloids – normally bastions of footballing patriotism.
Historian Dan Snow on Tuesday wrote that despite historical differences: “We have always been France’s twin”.
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“Maybe for two minutes, I thought to myself, ‘Should I go, should I not go?’ But I had to go”.
