England vs. France: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Friendly

England were the more clinical side during Tuesday's international friendly against France at Wembley Stadium, winning 2-0 thanks to goals from Dele Alli and Wayne Rooney.

Youngster Alli gave the hosts the lead in the first half with a wonderful solo goal, and captain Rooney doubled their advantage early in the second half. France dominated possession for much of the night but couldn't put together any real chances, while England looked far more dangerous on the counter and deservedly won the match.

As this was France's first match since the Paris attacks that took place during their friendly against Germany, the ceremony preceding Tuesday's clash was an emotional one. Before kick-off, both teams came out for the national anthems with their entire squads rather than just the starting XIs, per Get French Football News:   

The two teams also gathered and stood side-by-side around the centre circle during the minute of silence.

The hosts fielded a young team, with 21-year-old Eric Dier and 19-year-old Alli both getting the chance to impress in midfield. France kept Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann on the bench. Manchester United's Anthony Martial, age 19, started as a striker.

Lucas Digne entertained the crowd early with a beautiful nutmeg on Raheem Sterling, but Nathaniel Clyne stepped in to make sure the young left-back couldn't fire a cross in front of goal.

France seemed to be in control of the midfield proceedings, but the first real chance fell to England. Hugo Lloris scuffed a clearance after a poor pass back from Digne, but Rooney couldn't take advantage after a pass from Harry Kane.

Meanwhile, Paddy Power had noticed Rooney was playing mainly out wide:  

Joe Hart was forced into action for the first time after a lovely move from Martial, who blew straight past Clyne but fired his shot right at the Manchester City goalkeeper.

The pace of the match wasn't the highest, with both teams seemingly content to sit back and let the ball do most of the work. France seemed to move a little better off the ball, but it didn't lead to much danger.

Rooney had a chance with a free-kick, but his shot flew straight into the arms of Lloris. On the other side of the pitch, Ben Arfa couldn't fare any better, as Hart barely had to move to stop his effort.

Clyne was as busy as ever, driving forward with some intensity, but his delivery was severely lacking. Per Bleacher Report UK's Sam Tighe, that's becoming an issue for the Liverpool man:

England gradually started to take control of the match, and another poor touch from Lloris nearly gave Kane a second chance to take advantage. Alli also had his fair share of touches near the box. And Rooney nearly scored a phenomenal goal after a great pass from Kane, but his shot flew just over the bar.

A goal seemed to be on its way, and it was Spurs youngster Alli who broke the deadlock. Taking the ball from Morgan Schneiderlin, he powered his way forward before unleashing a thunderous strike straight into the top corner.

Bleacher Report UK couldn't believe it:

Jonathan Johnson, Bleacher Report's French football expert, also couldn't hide his admiration:

England continued to press forward after the goal and came close to doubling the lead, as Raphael Varane had to make a last-minute block to deny Sterling on a quick counter.

Pogba and Kingsley Coman came on for the visitors to start the second half, but the home fans barely had time to find their seats before Rooney doubled England's lead. Alli was again involved, taking the ball from Pogba and playing it through to Sterling, who crossed it into the path of Rooney.

The Manchester United man smashed a volley past Lloris to keep his superb scoring streak for the national team going, per OptaJoe:

Kane was the next to try his luck, shooting just over from a long distance before Martial showed some quick feet to find space for a shot, which Alli blocked at the last second.

Pogba's introduction didn't go as planned, as he was at fault for England's second goal. But the Juventus man soon started dominating the midfield area as he usually does, and France started controlling play again. 

Olivier Giroud also found his way onto the pitch, with Les Bleus now throwing everything toward the English goal, and Martial nearly found the breakthrough after a lovely one-two with Pogba, only to find Jack Butland in his way. 

Paddy Power couldn't help but take a shot at the English defence:

A multitude of substitutions meant the pace of the match dropped slightly, and France's possession of the ball didn't lead to any real chances. Adam Lallana made an immediate impact as a substitute, working hard in midfield and shielding his defenders.

Kane's night came to an end with 10 minutes left to play, and while the Spurs man didn't score, he was undoubtedly one of England's best players, always tracking back to help out his midfielders.

Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe agreed:

By the time he left the pitch, the match had lost all of its intensity, with both teams just waiting for the final whistle. Kieran Gibbs had to make a fine tackle on Griezmann after losing the ball, but that was one of the few instances of genuine excitement inside Wembley Stadium in the final 10 minutes.

Pogba tried his luck from a long way out but couldn't get his shot on target, the last chance before the official ended the match.

It's hard to read too much into the result of this match given the conditions it was played in, but the Three Lions have to feel good about finally beating France, having failed to do so in their last six tries. After a very successful qualifying campaign, manager Roy Hodgson's squad continues to impress, which is a positive sign with an eye on Euro 2016.

Post-Match Reaction

Players and coaches of both teams acknowledged what a difficult match it was for both sides after the final whistle. Per BBC Sport's Tom Rostance, Rooney thought everyone handled the conditions very well:

"

It was always going to be a difficult night for everyone, especially the French players and staff. For ourselves to be involved in this occasion was tough, the young players were excited but it was a difficult game for them. I thought both teams handled it extremely well. The fans were brilliant. This will be shown round the world and will show unity. Football is a global game and, as Didier Deschamps said yesterday, it is not about relegation or race. We need to stand tall and stand together in these tough times.

"

Lloris thanked the English fans and players and said the result of the match didn't matter all that much:

"

First of all we want to thank all the England people in the stadium for their respect. The performance was not there for us and we had a lack of aggressiveness and concentration. It was more about solidarity. Life is still going on so we need to carry on.

"

England manager Hodgson even took the time to translate questions so the English journalists could follow what the French media were asking him, before answering those questions in French, per James Olley of the London Evening Standard.  

He also complimented youngster Alli, calling his performance "top class." 

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