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Euro 2016: Giroud, Payet lead France past Romania in tournament opener

By on June 11, 2016

Dimitri Payet’s late stunner rescued France’s welcoming party as Olivier Giroud was frustrated against Romania in the opening game of Euro 2016.  Here are Alex Morgan’s three thoughts on what was a wonderfully strange affair at the Stade de France:

Payet’s stunner gives France hope

The frustration had begun to set in. France had been hounding the Romanian goal for the best part of eighty-nine minutes, but one lone goal from Olivier Giroud wasn’t enough for the host nation to open Euro 2016 with a victory. Bogdan Stancu had quieted the Stade de France by equalizing from the spot for Romania.

Then Dimitri Payet found the piece of magic that had eluded Les Blues with less than a minute left on the clock, curling a stunning finish into the top corner of the net from twenty-five yards.  Jubilant celebrations ensued in the remaining three minutes of stoppage time and spread onto the pitch from the stands as France notched a 2-1 victory.  Didier Deschamps even let Payet soak up the occasion, with his substitution in the final minute met to a raucous standing ovation.

The applause was all Payet’s and however much he tried, the midfielder could not hold back the tears of joy.  Just weeks ago, he didn’t even expect to be a part of the French squad and now his goal will undoubtedly go on to be one of the highlight reel moments in the entire tournament.

He was instrumental for France, almost appearing everywhere at once.  Payet set up all four of Giroud’s shots, including the forward’s go-ahead goal.  It was a rare connection in a France team that lacked cohesion and Payet almost single-handedly made up for lackluster performances from Paul Pogba and Antoine Greizmann.

Although Payet’s attacking forays left Patrice Evra somewhere exposed in the back (indeed, it was Evra’s clumsy challenge that gave Romania a route back into the match), the West Ham forward more than made up for it on the attack.  Although France were much less spellbinding in other areas, Payet’s brilliance gives Les Blues hope that they can bring home their first major title since 1998 on home soil.

Inconclusive twist to Giroud’s international career

Olivier Giroud is a polarizing character for both club and country.  In the first of France’s two warm-up matches ahead of the Euros, he was given a standing ovation after netting a brace against Scotland.  In the next friendly, a 3-2 win over Cameroon, he was jeered off the pitch despite scoring.

Being a lone striker is unforgiving, such is the nature of the job.  Giroud relies on the players around him for service, so is naturally more culpable than others to the wild ups and downs of the team.  At Arsenal, a club that have been plagued with injury woes in the midfield over the last few years, he’s a solid fifteen-goals-a-season striker and yet he has the innate capability of making life even harder for himself than need be.

He has contrasting fortunes for France with the support a young, burgeoning midfield in Payet, Greizmann, Pogba, Anthony Martial (who has played mostly out wide for France) and Kingsley Coman.  The results speak for themselves: since October, Giroud has scored eight goals in nine appearances for France.

Yet Giroud still leaves much to be desired.  As many goals he scores, he always misses one more and such was the case tonight.  Although he scored the opening goal of the tournament near the hour mark with a flicked header from Payet’s cross, Giroud had missed two free headers in the first half and saw another shot saved towards the end of the game.

Against tougher opposition, though, France might have come to regret Giroud’s missed chances; indeed, only Payet’s brilliance saved the forward’s blushes.

Yet as long as Payet keeps on creating chances, Giroud will score goals.  He might only convert one in three good chances, but France are contented with that, at least for tonight.

Romania left crestfallen by France sucker-punch

Vlad Chiriches’ Romania side were left feeling hard done by after Payet’s late winner, having fought so well to contain the hosts.  After Giroud’s opener, Bogdan Stancu pulled Romania back level from the penalty spot as Nicolae Stannic drew a clumsy foul from Evra.

Even a draw would have given Romania a vital edge in a tough Group A, which also includes Albania and Switzerland.  Now Romania, who went undefeated in qualifying, cannot afford to lose their next match to Switzerland on Wednesday, also at the Parc des Princes.

Homepage photo credit: Liondartois [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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.