In a nail-biting finish to the curtain-raiser of Euro 2016, hosts France edged Romania 2-1 to start their campaign on a high. Olivier Giroud opened the scoring for Les Blues, before Patrice Evra’s foul on Nicolae Stanciu awarded the Tricolorii a penalty, which was dispatched with aplomb by the Bogdan Stancu.
The game was heading towards a draw when in the 89th minute, Dimitri Payet unleashed a piledriver from the edge of the box that found its way into the top left corner of the goal helping Didier Deschamps’ side secure all the points.
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The game started at a frantic pace with both sides creating chances, but they failed to break the deadlock courtesy of some excellent goalkeeping and poor finishing.
Here we take a look at how each player fared during the game.
France
Hugo Lloris – 6.5/10
The Tottenham Hotspur shot-stopper produced a brilliant save in the opening five minutes of the game to deny Stancu. Was confident whenever called into action but couldn’t do anything about the penalty.
Bacary Sagna – 6.5/10
The 33-year-old was solid at the back and provided an extra outlet in attack on the right wing. Griezmann fluffed his line after the former Arsenal man had provided a delightful cross for him to put his side ahead.
Adil Rami – 6/10
The better of the two central defenders on the night, Rami impressed with his positioning and tackling. Was kept busy for the entire 90 minutes and needs to improve his understanding with Koscielny.
Laurent Koscielny – 5.5/10
The Arsenal defender had a quiet game by his standards and apart from a couple of regulation tackles did not do much. Will have to pick up his game for the remainder of the tournament.
Patrice Evra – 3/10
The former Manchester United man had an evening to forget on the left-hand side of the defence and was given a torrid time by Popa and Stancu. Conceded the penalty after a needless challenge on the latter and his lack of pace was also evident on more occasions than one.
N’Golo Kante – 7.5/10
The Leicester City man chipped in with a brilliant performance as he marshalled the midfield with aplomb. Was at hand to provide some good tackles and interceptions, before providing the assist for Payet’s screamer.
Blaise Matuidi – 7/10
A dominant display from the 29-year-old as he formed a dynamic partnership with Kante at the heart of France’s midfield. Was solid throughout the game and thwarted almost anything that Romania had to offer on the counter-attack.
Antoine Griezmann – 5.5/10
The ghosts of the Champions League final seemed to haunt the Atletico Madrid man as he failed to get on the end of a delightful cross from Sagna to break the deadlock in the first half and subsequently hit the post from few yards out. The 25-year-old will need to pick up his game if France are to make it to the knockout stages, was replaced by Coman in the second half.
Paul Pogba – 6.5/10
The Juventus midfielder didn’t have the impact that Deschamps would have wanted him to make and was replaced by Martial in the 77th minute. Had his volley saved in the second half and tried to create nuisance for the Tricolorii defence with his trickery.
Dimitri Payet – 9/10
The West Ham United man put in an incredible performance and finished the game with a goal and an assist. The 29-year-old was a constant menace for the opposition with his tricks, clever movements and incisive passing. Found Giroud with a pin-point cross for the opener, before unleashing a memorable strike to seal the win for his side towards the end of the game.
Olivier Giroud – 7/10
The Arsenal man missed a couple of chances early on but more than made up for it with his opener as he headed home after some poor decision making by the Romanian goalkeeper and made a strong case for starting as the striker in the upcoming matches.
Substitutes
Kingsley Coman – 6/10
Replaced Griezmann in the 66th minute and was full of energy causing problems for the opposition defence.
Anthony Martial – N/A
Came on for Pogba in the 77th minute but did not have enough time to have a decisive impact on the game.
Moussa Sissoko -N/A
Come on as a stoppage-time substitute for Payet and did not have enough time to make an impact.
Romania
Ciprian Tatarusanu – 5/10
His howler led to Giroud’s opener as he went for the ball but could get nowhere near it. Was solid otherwise and couldn’t do much for Payet’s unstoppable winner.
Cristian Sapunaru – 5.5/10
The defender found it difficult to cope up with the tricks and skills of Payet but managed to make a crucial block in the first half. Was an outlet for the away side to use while attacking.
Vlad Chiriches – 6.5/10
Handled the physical presence of Giroud with aplomb but was booked for a late challenge. Solid game for the former Tottenham man.
Dragos Grigore – 7/10
The central defender had an excellent game as he was at hand to make a number of key interceptions and blocks.
Razvan Rat – 5.5/10
The 35-year-old was caught out defensively on a couple of occasions and was also booked for a high tackle in the first half. Will need to step up his game for the remainder of the tournament.
Nicolae Stanciu – 7/10
Helped his side equalise after winning the penalty as he was tripped inside the box by Evra. The 23-year-old had an excellent outing and had provided the cross for Stancu’s early shot which was saved by Lloris.
Ovidiu Hoban – 6/10
Had a relatively dismal outing compared to his teammates and failed to influence the game as he would have hoped for.
Mihai Pintilii – 6.5/10
The midfielder was a solid presence in midfield and put in some crunching tackles in the opening stages of the game, but failed to assert himself on the game when his side were in possession.
Adrian Popa – 5.5/10
The winger gave his 100 percent but couldn’t manage to have the impact his team was expecting from him. Was booked for a rash challenge in the first half before being replaced by Torje in the second half.
Florin Andone – 5/10
The striker failed to make a mark on the game and was replaced in the 61st minute by Alibec. Although he was unlucky not to win a free-kick at the edge of the box having been brought down by Koscielny.
Bogdan Stancu – 6.5/10
Dispatched his penalty with aplomb and was unlucky not to open the scoring in the first five minutes after being set up by Stanciu as his Lloris made an excellent save to deny him. Missed another easy chance at the start of the second half.
Substitutes
Denis Alibec – 5/10
Despite coming on in the 61st minute, Alibec did not have the impact his manager was hoping for as Romania were left chasing the ball with France dominating possession in the search for the winner.
Alexandru Chipciu – N/A
Replaced Stanciu in the 72nd minute but did not have a significant impact on the game.
Gabriel Torje – N/A
Came on as an 82nd-minute substitute for Popa but did not have enough time to make a mark on the game.
