FRANCE.....2 ALBANIA....0
Payet applies the coup de grace as Albanians crack
THERE used to be a football saying about never changing a winning team. It is tempting to wonder what happened to it. For this game at Stade Velodrome, France coach Didier Deschamps chose to leave out two of the players who had contributed to his team’s opening win against Romania. The omission of Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann had been well trailed in the French media but was still a surprise.
What is clear is that it didn’t work. France were dreadful before half time, failing to manage a single shot on target in front of an imploring crowd.
So, after the interval on came Pogba and France improved. They would have scored sooner had Olivier Giroud been better.
Much later, Griezmann came on to head the winner in the 90th minute and Deschamps celebrated as though he has just pulled off the greatest managerial masterstroke of all time.
He hadn’t, though. Not at all. He just got lucky. Very lucky.
There was still time for another French masterpiece from Dimitri Payet. He was the best player last night and is the stand-out player of the tournament so far. His injurytime goal was beautifully taken, crashed into the far corner with that wand of a right foot.
But even that shouldould not shield Deschamps from the truth. The Frenchnch coach tried to be smart here andd almost got stung.
The coach underlined Pa yet’ s importance to his plans when he joked: ‘I’ll have to put his legs in ice now to keep him fresh!’
France are firstst through the door to the next round at theirr own party and will be veryery satis-satisfied. This was a frustrating night for them but teams that win games late tend to make a habit of it. Not only do they begin to expect it but the opposition begin to expect it also. That is what it will be like for France now.
Once, against Romania on day one, can be dismissed as a coincidence. Twice can be viewed as the beginning of a happy pattern. By the last 10 minutes of this game, Albania were succumbing to cramp. France had run them into the ground.
Certainly players like Payet and Leicester’s N’Golo Kante have brought their Barclays Premier League form to this tournament. It is just a shame for France that Giroud has, too.
Poyet was excellent once more and his West Ham manager Slaven Bilic will start to watch this tournament from behind his hands. Big performances in big tournaments tend to get players sold.
Even during a first period that saw France trip over their lines, Payet was dangerous. His dead-ball play is immaculate and he is picking passes perfectly. Twice in the first period, Anthony Martial could have scored. Once the pass came from Blaise Matuidi and once it came from Payet who also gave Giroud a chance that, predictably, he headed over.
Worse was to come for Giroud. The Arsenal centre forward headed against a post as time threatened to run out in the second half and that was a decent effort. Just before that, however, the 29-year-old had headed a Kingsley Coman cross wide when he really should have scored. Typical.
The miss came at a time of intense French pressure and they were definitely much better in the second half. With the disappointing Martial replaced by Pogba, France changed formation and improved almost beyond recognition as they began to play with real energy, purpose and incisiveness. Sensing a shift in mood, this big crowd responded in kind aand willed France on. The home team did have a scare wwhen Bacary Sagna nudged across against his own post under pressure. Coman, only 20, threw his head bravely at one chance only to see it go wide, Payet drifted a free-kick across goal and Kante saw a low shot deflected wide.
Pogba then charged in at the far post to drill a Payet cross — sumptuously delivered with the outside of his right foot — over the bar on the half-volley.
Over the piece, France were the better team by a distance, even if it took some rejigging to get things right.
Griezmann’s goal looked straightforward but he took it calmly, directing Andi Rami’s ball from the right across the goalkeeper with a deft and careful touch.
Payet, meanwhile, painted an altogether different picture. His intentions were easy enough to read as he drove into the penalty area but trying to stop him in this mood is not easy.
His right- footed shot was a perfect mixture of grace and thunderous power. It was an uplifting ending to a peculiar night.
Will Deschamps learn his selection lesson? He will argue that he deserves some time to think that one over.
With two wins from two, he may well be right.