France will target the perfect start to their home Euro 2016 campaign when they play Romania in the opener on Friday. But then, high-profile matches, quite often, go against the usual predictions, even one that looks as cut and dried as this match at the Stade de France.
On paper, France look capable of cutting apart Romania, but then Anghel Iordanescu's men do have one of the best defences in Euro 2016. So, maybe goalscoring will not be that easy, even for this talented France side.
Here goes a prediction of how France vs Romania might transpire:
France start well, with plenty of possession, but, with Romania staying compact at the back, chances are, initially, hard to come by. There are a couple of sniffs here and there, an Antoine Griezmann long-range effort, a Dimitri Payet freekick that just whistles wide and an Olivier Giroud header off a corner which goes a tad high, but overall, in the first 25 minutes Vlad Chiriches and his Romania backline are a pretty satisfied bunch.
That changes soon enough, when Griezmann goes on a brilliant run from the left, cuts inside and takes a shot from 24 yards. The strike is saved well by Ciprian Tatarusanu, with his right hand, but Giroud is there to make full use of the rebound and bulge the net, much like he did against Scotland not too long ago.
That opening goal gives France confidence, and they nearly make it 2-0 at halftime, but the Romania goalkeeper brilliantly keeps out Pogba's effort from 16 yards, off a cutback from Payet.
With a goal to pull back, Romania threaten to equalise via a couple of setpieces early in the second half, with Florin Andone looking dangerous on the counter-attack. France's defence, despite not looking entirely convincing, hold firm, though, and the match is as good as put to bed on 61 minutes when Griezmann curls one into the top corner.
Anthony Martial then comes on from the bench to make it 3-0 with a nice finish into the bottom corner, and while Romania get a consolation goal via Andone, it is too little too late as France start their Euro 2016 campaign with a 3-1 victory.
Not the greatest of performances, but more than good enough to give Didier Deschamps and the fans encouragement that this France team have it in them to go all the way.
