France 2-1 Romania: Dimitri Payet scores spectacular late winner to save blushes of nervy Euro 2016 hosts in tournament opener

They’ve got Payet. Dimitri Payet. And anyone who did not understand does now.

Better than Zinedine Zidane? Well, let’s not get carried away; but this was a performance of Zizou-like influence, and it won France the game.

Take Payet away and this is a draw, maybe even a defeat for the hosts. It really is that simple. He made the first goal for Olivier Giroud, too, and could have made him tournament top scorer in 90 minutes if the Arsenal man had capitalised on his chances.

Then, when the cent dropped and Payet finally realised that if he wanted this match won he was just going to have to do it himself, he seized all three points from Romania with a minute to spare.

And what a goal it was. One of those moments when a great player bypasses his team-mates and takes sole responsibility for securing victory. Payet collected the ball 30 yards out, considered his options, decided the best one was himself and struck a left-foot curler that gave goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu no chance.

‘Romania could have played all three goalkeepers and they wouldn’t have saved that,’ said Thierry Henry, who knew a thing or two about scoring. ‘Payet bailed France out tonight.’

Sitting in the media tribune, Henry was on his feet celebrating like the rest of his nation. ‘I forgot I was on air,’ he admitted sheepishly. It was that sort of goal.

Even Payet seemed to sense it. He left the field a minute later, in tears, overcome with the emotion of such a moment of vindication. He seemed certain to travel to the World Cup in 2014, featuring in most of the qualifying games, but was left out at the last.

So this is his time, and at 29, the opportunities will not be endless. He played like a man whose tournament clock is ticking, the one French player who truly lived up to his reputation. Good news for France, maybe bad news for West Ham, if the Champions League elite catch the scent, but there is a lot of football to come and we will see if this incredible level of performance can be sustained.

It helped Payet stand out, when so many of France’s stellar names failed to spark. Giroud was wasteful, Antoine Griezmann not greatly effective and substituted to his apparent disgust, Paul Pogba was — by his standards — rather quiet.

It was Payet who shone, Payet who rose to the occasion, Payet who made certain that a tournament dogged by fear, tragic events and most lately natural disasters and domestic unrest, would begin on a note of pure uplift. Payet made it all about the football once more. Most certainly, France owes him a debt of gratitude for that.

It was a good game, too, and Romania played their part. Yes, they came with limited ambition, relying on secure defence — but France had home advantage and some of the most dangerous forwards in the world. What were they to do, wave them through?

Romania had enough chances to steal the game on the counter and looked to be getting a point until Payet intervened. These teams met in the 2008 European Championship, too, and at just 17 minutes this game had produced more shots on target than it did that day.

That it was not higher scoring is due, mainly, to wastefulness on France’s part — and in particular Giroud’s. His champions will point to eight goals in his last six internationals, but the Stade de France must have lost count of the times Payet — 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.

He had to get one eventually and, really, Giroud is fortunate that Payet came to his rescue. The load he missed will inevitably be discussed, but at least they did not end up costing France two points.

France’s first was made by a decent cross from Payet, again — he is rarely anything less than decent — but it must be said Tatarusanu also 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 Romanian was weak, simple as that, and any Premier League striker worth his salt will take advantage in those circumstances.

That should have been enough for France. They had stuttered and struggled to get in front but, once there, they just needed to see the game out.

Such happy thoughts were allowed to last no more than six minutes after a moment of 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.

It really shouldn’t have mattered. The speed of Payet’s footwork, his imagination, his vision, all should have been enough for a comfortable victory. He created chance after chance, and saw them go awry, beginning with a lovely stepover in the 11th minute which earned him the space to whip in a cross for Giroud to head 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 — before driving a low cross in with the venom of a shot. Griezmann struck it with equal ferocity, but wide.

Next up, a Payet corner. Giroud lost his marker well and made lots of room, the ball was planted squarely on his head, but was steered over the bar. In the 52nd minute, put in by Payet again, he shot straight at Tatarusanu.

At least Pogba did better from a Payet pass soon after, forcing a genuine save from 20 yards. Griezmann hit a post with a header in the first half, but it was a rare chance for the Atletico Madrid man, another who disappointed.

As for Romania, they will be dangerous in this competition. They are tight and well-organised, and unafraid to get physical. 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 but it was Romania who could have scored first — and they didn’t have to wait anywhere near 15 minutes for the opportunity.

Stanciu curled in a corner after four minutes, Florin Andone won the header at the near post to flick it on and the ball fell to Stancu, running in, whose shot from close range was blocked by captain Lloris — the first great save of the tournament, and probably not the last if this is evidence of France’s defence.

These opening games are rarely easy for the hosts, but the threat of a Romanian counter-attack 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.

Ultimately, though, it was not enough. Hard work, yes, but France will fancy their chances a little bit more after this. They showed resilience, determination and, don’t forget: they’ve got Payet.

Hungarian official Viktor Kassai shows a yellow card to Romania’s Razvan Rat shortly before the half-time interval

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Payet is mobbed by his France team-mates after the West Ham playmaker won the game for his country with a long-range effort

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An emotional Payet is given a celebratory hug by France national team boss Didier Deschamps after he was replaced to a standing ovation

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Payet salutes the home supporters after he guided his side to a 2-1 victory against Romania in the Euro 2016 opener

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English referee Mark Clattenburg watches on from the stands during the Group A opener held at the stadium situated just north of Paris

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French president Francois Hollande (centre) was also pictured at the Stade de France as he supported his country from the stands

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A colourful opening ceremony takes place before France and Romania get this summer’s Euro 2016 underway at the Stade de France

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Singer Zara Larsson (right) and DJ David Guetta (left) perform as they entertain the 80,000 spectators at France’s national stadium

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