Despite being outgunned, Romania put on a nice defensive display as they frustrated France’s attackers. At the Stade de France in Paris on Friday night, he finally got his chance.
Advertisement
Deschamps, who has handed Payet 17 of his 20 appearances for France, needs no more convincing. Many French fans will feel that the absent Karim Benzema would have found the net with some of those opportunities.
In Pogba’s deeper role, his perfectly angled pass set right back Bacary Sagna free to cross and cause confusion that led to Griezmann’s header against the post in the 14th minute.
Both teams squandered opportunities in the first half at the Stade de France before Olivier Giroud gave his side the lead with a courageous header (57).
Bidding to win the European Championship for the third time after its 1984 and 2000 triumphs, Olivier Giroud’s header had given France a second-half lead before Bogdan Stancu equalized with a penalty.
Hosts France needed a stunning late strike from playmaker Dimitri Payet to secure a hard-earned 2-1 win over Romania in the opening match of Euro2016.
Les Bleus were not exactly firing on all cylinders, but there would be three good chances before the interval, two of them for Griezmann.
For the opening ten minutes Romania looked like the more dynamic team, moving the ball quickly around the French players hence adding pressure on the host nation.
However, Payet smashed the ball into the top corner a minute from time before breaking down in tears as he left the pitch to a standing ovation in stoppage time.
France then bounced back into action as Payet neatly set up Giroud who took a shot at goal, however it resulted in an easy save for the goalkeeper.
He finished the game with an assist for Giroud’s opener and a memorable victor with his weaker left-foot late in the encounter to enter in the running for “Goal of the Tournament”.
At that point, France seemed on its way to a comfortable victory, but its defensive raggedness cost it. Patrice Evra had been poor from the offset, but his trip on Stanciu was both weird and foolish, conceding a penalty that Stancu gleefully converted. “It’s a very good thing to have won the first match, to start us off in the competition”, he said.
Payet said he had been overcome by the way he has fought his way into the French team. Dimitri Payet makes a break in midfield and cant be stopped in a legal manner so Adrian Popa drags down the West Ham man and concedes a free-kick in the centre circle for a yellow card.
In the 48th minute, Stancu had a glorious chance for Romania after beating the offside trap but his aatempted bicycle kick went narrowly wide. France got their month-long festival of football off to a winning start, but only just, as Dimitri Payet’s sensational late strike handed the hosts a nervy 2-1 win over Romania in Paris yesterday.
However, it was Payet who made the difference was more as he cut onto his less favoured left-foot with time running down before unleashing a fearsome drive into the top corner.
Advertisement
France next take on Albania on Wednesday. Didier Deschamps’ side are big favourites to go all the way in the tournament given the outstanding strength in depth in the squad, boasting the likes of Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba and Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann, to name but two.
