France’s result and the pattern of their game with Romania in the Euro 2016 opener on Friday night were highly-predictable. At half-time the game was goalless and Romania had defended for their lives, as France dominated play.
The French pressure paid off in the second half, as Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud gave Les Bleus the lead. The visitors equalised just seven minutes later, as Bogdan Stancu equalised from the penalty spot after Patrice Evra had tripped Nicolae Stanciu in the area.
For all their highly-rated talent, the hosts struggled to find a winner against the solid Romanians, until the 89th minute, when West Ham playmaker Dimitri Payer struck a fantastic long-range effort to clinch an opening game victory.
The goal was obviously an emotional moment for Payet, who for much of his recent career he has been considered too much of a maverick to be part of Les Bleus’ squad.
The 29-year-old was highly-consistent at Marseille, producing goals and assists in Ligue One on a regular basis. However, it was not until last season’s stellar performances with West Ham in the Premier League that he broke back into the French national side.
For years Payet was in a sort of international limbo, where national team coaches refused to select him and only his hard-work at West Ham made him too hard to ignore for boss Didier Deschamps.
There were question marks over the former-Saint Etienne stars attitude in the past, but there has been little sign of that during his time in England. The likes of Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann are considered France’s star players, but it seems that it is the maverick West Ham star that could very well be the stand-out player for Les Bleus this summer.