PAYET LIGHTS UP THE PARTY
Magnifique start as host nation thrilled by a hammer blow
They’ve got Payet. Dimitri Payet. And for that reason alone, France began their tournament with a gloom lifting win. Left foot curled in from 25 yards after 89 minutes. he’s been scoring them like that all season, although not many quite of this importance, but it was no more than he deserved. Taken off in added time, he was crying, overcome with emotion and it was entirely understandable. So long on the periphery in his own country he was the best player on the field here by a mile.
As for the scorer of France’s first goal, Olivier Giroud, well, he had to get one eventually. Unfortunately, it was the barrow load he missed that will be most discussed, having come so close to costing France two points.
had Giroud taken his chances, the 64th-minute penalty awarded to Romania would have been an irrelevance. France would have been long out of sight. Instead, until Payet’s magnificent intervention, this was shaping to be a stutter, a stumble. No catastrophe — not here, of all places — but hardly the start the nation expected.
Romania are tough cookies, but France no doubt thought they would have too much to them, but that would not have been the case without Payet’s beautiful boot.
The Stade de France must have lost count of the times Payet in parof ticular — he was the game’s outstanding provider, too — put it on a plate for the Arsenal man, On his head, to his feet, Payet’s accuracy showed why he is, without doubt, among the greatest creative midfielders in the world right now.
Giroud showed why he is one of the most infuriating forwards. Grand opportunities went over, went wide, went tamely to goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu. When he did eventually score, it was more a case of the blind squirrel finding a nut — and he had a lot of help from the man in Romania’s goal.
It was a decent cross from Payet, again — he is rarely anything less than decent — but Tatarusanu made an absolute hash of claiming it, coming off his line and allowing Giroud to get across him to glance the ball into the net.
Tatarusanu bitterly complained about an elbow, but there was none. A little physical contact, perhaps, but nothing that is not considered part of any aerial tussle. The Fiorentina man was weak, simple as that, and any Premier League striker worth his salt will take advantage in those circumstances.
Discomfort followed just six minutes later, however, after a moment uncharacteristic sloppiness from Patrice evra. There was no need for him to dangle the leg that felled Nicolae Stanciu and when it clipped him at full pelt the consequential events were obvious. Stanciu fell, dramatically, referee viktor Kassai of hungary pointed to the spot, all France despaired. Bogdan Stancu stepped up, took it smartly and sweetly to hugo Lloris’s left, and Romania looked to be holding on for the point they wanted.
Then came Payet. And now, everybody understands.
Romania coach Anghel Iordanescu’s prediction was that France would come flying out in the opening 15 minutes in search of a goal to ease the tension.
Ironically, it was Romania who could have scored first — and they didn’t have to wait anywhere near 15 minutes for the opportunity. Mihai Pintilii had a shot from range after three minutes but nothing to frighten the horses.
A minute later, however, when Romania won the first corner of the game it was a different story. Stanciu curled it in and Florin Andone won the header at the near post to flick it on. The ball fell to Bogdan Stancu running in whose shot from close range was blocked by hugo Lloris — the first great save of the tournament, and probably not the last with some of the defences out here.
France are far from convincing at the back without Raphael varane (thigh) and Mamadou Sakho (drugs) and the corner that resulted was a rerun, taken by Stanciu, won by Andone, this time directed narrowly over the bar.
Not that Romania threatened greatly after that, but then few expected them to. This was all about whether they could contain front-loaded front-runners France, who grew into the game through several of the previous Premier League season’s outstanding performers.
N’Golo Kante carried on his magnificent form for champions Leicester City with a series of important interceptions, some hard running and the seeming ability to be in several places at once. It does look as if he has a twin in midfield at times, so tenacious is his display.
Payet, meanwhile, looked the best player on the pitch, certainly in the first half. It isn’t just his dead ball smarts that impress. The speed of his footwork, his imagination, his vision — all are exceptional. he specialises in blind passes, finding a team-mate without looking.
Paul Pogba can do it, too. This is being touted as his tournament but he was a little slow to spark here, trying his best to dictate the game in midfield, but often thwarted by Romania’s defensive cordon. It wasn’t bad, but certainly not stellar, and a shot from range that looked dangerously initially before straying off course seemed to be born more of frustration.
SO it was left to Payet to create France’s best chances and, in doing so, he brought a reminder of another Premier League player’s season. Most fell to Giroud and most he missed. Giroud has 28 goals across all competitions and forms of the game this season, which is no bad return — but he does play for two of the most attack-minded teams in the world.
he certainly should have done better in the first half here, starting in the 11th minute when a lovely stepover from Payet earned him the space to whip in a cross, which Giroud headed wide.
It was Payet in the 36th minute too, who left Razvan Rat for dead — a snapshot of West ham’s past and its considerably more optimistic present there — before driving a low cross in with the venom of a shot. Antoine Griezmann struck it with equal ferocity, but wide.
Then it was Giroud’s turn to torment the locals again, this time from a Payet corner. he lost his marker well and made lots of room, Payet did his part by planting the ball squarely on his head, but Giroud steered it over the bar — a very poor effort.
his wastefulness continued after half-time as well — put in by Payet once more after 52 minutes, he shot the ball straight at goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu.
Pogba did better soon after — a low shot from 20 yards, again from a pass by Payet, that the Fiorentina man at least needed to keep out with his feet.
Perhaps France’s finest chance came from a rare Romanian error in defence. Bacary Sagna got to the by-line and crossed for Griezmann who missed his kick only for captain vlad Chiriches, formerly of Tottenham to tee the ball up for him again.
Griezmann was no doubt grateful for the opportunity, but spurned it — his header rebounding off the near post. It was frustrating for the hosts who were riding the emotion of the occasion after so much recent misery for the country, and the roar of the Marseillaise was particularly moving, some French flags even fluttering in the Romanian section.
These opening games are rarely easy for the hosts, though, and Romania are a tricky, well-organised counter-attacking side. That danger was never far away and two minutes into the second half the double act of Stanciu and Stancu combined again, Stanciu’s lovely pass finding Stancu in space, his shot on the half-turn flying just wide.