France vs. Romania: Score and Twitter Reaction from Euro 2016

Dimitri Payet scored the winner for France in Friday's UEFA Euro 2016 opener, as Les Bleus battled to a hard-fought 2-1 win over Romania.

Les Bleus were the better side during the first half, and Olivier Giroud gave the hosts a deserved lead after 57 minutes.

Bogdan Stancu equalised from the penalty spot shortly after, however, setting up a tense finale. With just minutes left to play, Payet curled a fantastic left-footed effort into the far corner, handing his team the win.

France will play Albania in their next Group A match, while Romania will face Switzerland.

As shared by the team's official Twitter account, France kept Anthony Martial and Kingsley Coman on the bench, opting to start Giroud and Payet:

The tournament started with an elaborate opening ceremony that included a performance by David Guetta and didn't exactly please everyone. The Football Republic was among those who weren't impressed:

Unsurprisingly, the hosts took command of the ball early, but both sides were clearly nervous, with bad passing and empty possessions dominating the headlines early. Blaise Matuidi fired the first shot toward goal, causing goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu no problems.

The first real chance fell to Romania, however, and Hugo Lloris produced a stunning save after just minutes to ensure France didn't concede early.

A corner kick was headed into the box by a Romanian attacker, and Bogdan Stancu nearly pushed the ball over the line, if not for the shocking intervention from Lloris.

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Mihai Pintilii fired a chance over Lloris' goal shortly after, as Romania played freely and with far less pressure on their shoulders than Les Bleus.

Antoine Griezmann fired over from a promising position, and Giroud went close with a good header that fell just wide of the post. Paul Pogba nearly picked out Payet with a smart pass, before Griezmann found the post with a header after missing his initial touch. France's early nerves clearly vanished after 10 minutes, with chances coming fast.

Pogba was running the show in midfield for France, and ESPN FC's David Amoyal was impressed:

The Juventus man tried his luck with a long-range effort from a difficult angle, but his ball floated high over the goal of Tatarusanu.

Payet was the other attacking standout for France, and it was thanks to a superb individual action of the West Ham man Griezmann went close again after 35 minutes. Payet found the Atletico Madrid man with a fantastic cross, but the defence closed down just in time and blocked the shot.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

The French pressure increased toward the end of the first half, and Giroud powered a header just over the bar in the first minute of stoppage time. 

Romania's most active performer was Florin Andone, who spent the bulk of the first half battling France's defenders on his own, and he stole the show again with another powerful move immediately after the break, almost working his way past Laurent Koscielny.

The underdogs started the half well, and a clever chip from Nicolae Stanciu over the defence isolated Stancu, who should have done better with his volley but missed the target.

The Daily Mirror's Jack Lang couldn't help himself:

On the other side of the pitch, Giroud fired a golden chance straight into the hands of Tatarusanu, and the Stade de France started calling for Martial, as the Arsenal man seemed to lack sharpness in the box.

France tried to push the pace, and Payet lobbed an excellent pass into the path of Pogba, whose volley was aimed right at Tatarusanu.

MIGUEL MEDINA/Getty Images

The resulting corner was eventually worked back to Payet, who fired another cross into the box. This time, Tatarusanu didn't fight for the ball enough, and Giroud got away with a minor shove before heading home and handing France the lead.

Bleacher Report UK's Jonathan Johnson thought the stopper could have done much better:

Andone almost equalised immediately from a corner himself, missing the target with a header, but the goal clearly had a good impact on the hosts, who started playing more freely.  

A few half-chances followed, but Romania remained dangerous on the counter, and Patrice Evra made the mistake of engaging Stanciu inside the box. The Romanian fell due to the trip, and after a short glance at his assistant, the official handed Romania a penalty.

Clive Rose/Getty Images

Stancu atoned for his earlier mistake, wrong-footing Lloris and pulling his side level. Per football writer Raphael Honigstein, the Juventus man didn't have a great night:

And the controversies continued. Giroud appealed for a penalty just a few minutes after Romania's goal, and replays confirmed both he and his marker grabbed a handful of shirt before the Arsenal man went down. No spot-kick was given, however.

Coman made his way onto the pitch, replacing the disappointing Griezmann, and play went up and down at a rapid pace. 

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

Martial joined the Bayern Munich man in the 77th minute, with Pogba making way, but Romania didn't back down, with Ovidiu Hoban trying his luck from a tough angle. 

The Romanians did an excellent job of killing the clock with smart fouls and some possession, and chances were few in the final 10 minutes. But one good look was enough for Payet, who gave Tatarusanu no chance with a fantastic strike from distance.

Even fellow professional Mix Diskerud couldn't contain his excitement:

While France didn't look nearly as convincing as they would have liked, the win is all that matters for Les Bleus at this point. Albania aren't expected to trouble the hosts too much, and France already seemingly have one leg in the next round.

Romania put together a fine performance but came just short, and if they can play at this level against Switzerland and Albania, a spot in the next round should be within reach for them as well.

Post-Match Reaction

Per Goal, Payet was asked whether this was the best way for his team to win their opening match, and he admitted the close nature of the result might be the wake-up his team needed:

"I thought about that. Had we won by two or three [it] might have misled us. That shows there’s going to be no easy matches. The crowd have high expectations for us and the opposition are waiting for us, and that was the best demonstration of that possible tonight."