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France and England unite in show of solidarity at Wembley

By on November 17, 2015

A hush went over Wembley Stadium and its 80,000 plus occupants. The French and English national teams stood side by side in the center circle as their supporters were equally united in the stands. Rarely is a minute’s silence so impeccably observed, but these were not normal circumstances. Just four days removed from the tragedies in Paris, football still seems trivial by comparison, yet France and England’s international friendly brought together two nations to honor those who lost their lives in the attack and demonstrate defiance against their murderers, those who thrive on amoral division.

England’s minister and heir apparent were drawn to the match to herald flowers to honor those lost in the tragedies and the two teams joined arms for a commemorative moment. Laurent Koscielny shed a tear after an emotional, bilateral rendition of La Marseillaise, sung in solemn solidarity. When the two teams lined up in the tunnel, nobody spoke. As they left a team of heavily armed police behind them in a tunnel and stepped out onto the pitch, with a red white and blue Wembley arch above them, football was the last thing that was going through their minds.

Before the match even kicked off their emotional reserves must have been drained, but even in defeat, the French displayed courage to even step onto the pitch. They bravely went through the motions, although it’s quite understandable that their hearts remained in Paris and the Stade de France, where the first of a series of deadly attacks took place on Friday night.

Hugo Lloris, led his team out, stoney-faced. “It was a chance to represent the French nation and I think the French nation is more important than French football,” he said, per The Telegraph.

When the match kicked off, the crowd were at first unsure and timid in their support, but France’s early bought of possession brought the flags and chants back out. England fans joined in, too, respect and unity beyond expectations. The Mexican wave began to snake around the stadium.

France’s nerves could be excused in moment such as Lloris’ shanked clearance early on, right to the foot of his club teammate, Harry Kane. The English forward was supported by Tottenham Hotspur players Dele Alli and Eric Dier in England’s midfield duo, who set the home nation’s tempo. On another night their excellence might have been cherished. Wayne Rooney came close with an arrowing twenty-five yard effort and supplied the assist for Alli’s go-ahead goal in the thirty-ninth minute. The teenager won a fifty-fifty challenge with Morgan Schneiderlin in the middle of the park and played the ball wide to Rooney, before continuing his run. France perhaps cruised through the transition from offense to defense, allowing Alli the space to receive a return pass from Rooney and rifled a slightly-deflected effort into the top left corner from at least thirty yards out.

Alli was at the root of England’s second goal, too, winning another tackle in the middle early in the second half. The ball was fed out wide to Raheem Sterling, whose pin-point cross found an unmarked Rooney at the far post. The Manchester United forward let the ball come across his body before slicing a beautiful side-volley into the back of the net to seal a 2-0 win.

But the occasion was more important than the scoreline. Lassana Diarra, whose cousin died in the attacks, received a standing ovation when he came on as section half substitute, as did Antoine Griezmann, whose sister was in the Bataclan theatre where many died, but thankfully managed to escape.

“France is standing,” FFF president Noel Le Graet said, per CBS. “Football also.” Normality will eventually return to football but for one night, the football community paid their respects those who will be forever affected by the tragedy.

Homepage photo credit: Martin Pettitt, via Flickr

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.