France pip Romania

Paris: Dimitri Payet’s stunning 25 metre strike a minute from time got hosts France off to a winning start at Euro 2016 yesterday as they beat Romania 2-1.

Payet was France’s standout performer all night. His cross also created the opener for Olivier Giroud before Bogdan Stancu’s penalty looked to have handed Romania a point.

However, the mercurial West Ham playmaker produced a moment of brilliance as he smashed the ball into the top corner to ensure France’s month-long festival of football got off to a flier.

“We had trouble getting out of the blocks,” French coach Didier Deschamps said.

“But its good to get the first game out of the way and to win,” he added.

An emotionally charged atmosphere at the Stade de France just seven months after suicide bombers tried to get inside during a France-Germany friendly on a night of widespread attacks across Paris, was brought to fever pitch by an opening ceremony headlined by French DJ David Guetta before kick-off.

However, the hosts made a nervy start and Romania should have been ahead inside five minutes. A Romanian corner was flicked on by Florin Andone to the back post where Bogdan Stancu’s effort from point-blank range was brilliantly blocked by France captain Hugo Lloris.

Deschamps’s men settled as the first-half wore on and Giroud and Antoine Griezmann twice came close to opening the scoring.

Missed chances 

Giroud flashed a header just wide from Payet’s cross before Griezmann nodded a loose ball against the bar from a narrow angle.

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.

Stancu wasted another golden opportunity to put Romania in front just three minutes into the second-half, but he failed to hit the target on the volley after cushioning the ball on his chest.

Payet had beaten off stiff competition from Manchester United’s Anthony Martial to claim his place in the starting line-up.