Romania’s Razvan Rat, midfielder Bogdan Stancu, the nation’s first player to score twice in a European Championship, and Mihai Pintilii are all expected to shake off minor knocks.
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Goalkeeper Etrit Berisha described Cana as “the pillar of our national team”. His players embraced the style of play he imported from Italy, and they now share his belief that one more display of staunch defense will have its rewards.
The midfielder has been voted man of the match in each of Switzerland’s first two games. Griezmann tried again four minutes later, but Sommer made the save.
France striker Antoine Griezmann. For the Swiss, the main aim will be to avoid a repeat of the 5-2 mauling they suffered against the French two years ago at the World Cup.
GOAL: Armando Sadiku has scored for Albania in the 43rd minute.
France players celebrate their 2-0 win over Albania at the Velodrome Stadium in Marseille Wednesday.
Mergim Mavraj and Andi Lila came close for Albania in the dying minutes as the Romanians ran out of steam and ideas.
Some smoke drifted up at the Stade de Lyon before slowly dispersing.
Brian Homewood (Switzerland) and Jonathan Johnson (France) look ahead to Sunday’s clash.
Albania will face Romania in a Euro 2016 Group A soccer match in Lyon on Sunday, June 19, 2016.
“It’s going to a very hard match”.
Two points clear of second-place Switzerland, France need a point to secure top spot in the group and with it a last 16 tie against the third-place team in Group C, D or E.
If France coach Didier Deschamps wanted to see how his team would cope without the pair, who both disappointed in their opening 2-1 win over Romania, then he did not have to wait long for the answer.
Dimitri Payet, Alvaro Morata, Romelu Lukaku, Gareth Bale and… And coach Vladimir Petkovic would be unlikely to take any chances with his selection, regardless.
Switzerland forward Haris Seferovic has gone one better, having missed six so far.
It needed to. France were hesitant and risk-averse in a forgettable first half as the ploy of using the speed of Kingsley Coman and Anthony Martial out wide failed to come off.
Speaking in Saint-Etienne, where England takes on Slovakia on Monday, Hodgson says it’s “our hope, our dream” that the atmosphere surrounding the game will remain peaceful. “We’ve shown we’re a proper team and play good football”.
“Yes, they tend to score a lot from set pieces, we can use this as a good test”, France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris said. “For us and for the country, it’s important to be in the last 16”. FC Daily has all you need to know to follow today’s action.
“The team has played with pride for their fans, and determination”.
So much for trying to reduce the pressure on him: The SOS came after just one half without a goal.
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For the majority of the match, the home crowd had to put up with a side brittle at the back and blunt at the top.
