France got their 2016 UEFA European Championship campaign off to a winning start with a 2-1 victory over Romania at Stade de France on Friday.
Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud opened the scoring for Didier Deschamps’ men after 57 minutes, but that lead only lasted eight minutes as Bogdan Stancu was allowed to score a penalty after Juventus’ Patrice Evra had inexplicably tripped Nicolae Stanciu.
Just when it looked as if Les Bleus would be frustrated in their first competitive outing since the 2014 FIFA World Cup, West Ham United’s Dimitri Payet produced a magnificent left-footed strike from distance to win it for the French.