By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
France became the first tournament hosts since Belgium in
EURO 2000 to win on opening night when they overcame a stiff Romania challenge
2-1 on Friday evening.
With the scoreline at 1-1 in the 88th minute,
Dimitri Payet produced a moment of magic to electrify the Stade de France and
EURO 2016. His wonderful strike won the game and made him a French hero.
Payet’s
tears
It’s not like Payet has been a regular at international
level either. Injured in November, he didn’t win regular international recognition
from national boss Didier Deschamps until the March friendly against the
Netherlands.
His performances for West Ham United have been inspirational
and almost forced Deschamps’ hand. He had to pick him. That confidence was
fully rewarded.
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| Payet was inspirational on opening night and scored a fantastic winner |
The opening game of any tournament can see players freeze on
the big stage. Not Payet (pictured), who was instrumental to everything positive Les Bleus
did. It was his cross that helped Olivier Giroud head home to break the
deadlock 10 minutes into the second half.
Then, when it looked like the hosts were going to be
frustrated, Payet’s sublime moment of magic was fitting enough to settle a
final, let alone a group game. His is a special talent. He left the field in
tears when substituted in injury time. You could see how much it meant to him
and to a nation.
Organised
Romanians
Romania had one of the best defensive records in qualifying
for this tournament, shipping just two goals in 10 matches and their
organisation was on show here too.
After Bogdan Stancu was denied in the fourth minute by an
instinctive Hugo Lloris save, Romania didn’t offer a huge amount going forwards
but remained in the game and were able to frustrate the crowd.
Stancu levelled matters midway through the second half when
he cooly tucked away a fairly dubious penalty and despite the heartbreak of
conceding late, Romania have shown enough to suggest they might just escape
Group A. The outcome of their next match in Paris against Switzerland could be
decisive.
It was a winning start for France but a far from fully
convincing display. Opening night at EURO 2016 firmly belonged to the deadly
Dimitri Payet.
My best
three players of the match
Man of the Match: Dimitri Payet
Eyebrows were raised when he was chosen to start ahead of
Kingsley Coman and Anthony Martial but it was the right decision. He was
terrific throughout and you will do well to see a better goal in these
championships than the one he struck to settle this contest.
2nd: Olivier Giroud (France)
Giroud kept plugging away and never let his head drop, even
after missing two early chances. He was braver in the air than the Romanian
goalkeeper for the opening goal and deserved his ovation from the crowd. That’s
eight goals now in his last six starts for France.
3rd: Bogdan Stanciu (Romania)
He might not be a household name right now, but Bogdan
Stanciu could become one once this tournament finishes. He was a pest all night
for the French defence. Took the penalty very well but should have scored early
on too.
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