Already tonight, the long-awaited European Championship will kick off, with the host France and Romania facing off in the opening match of the tournament. The first review of the 2016 European Championship matches is brought to you by "Eurofootball.com." Time and place of the match: June 10 at 22:00, at the "Stade de France" stadium. The match will be broadcast live on LRT television. Tournament situation: These will be the first matches in the championship. Apart from these two teams, the A group also includes Switzerland and Albania. Coaches' comments: Didier Deschamps (France): "I won't reveal what I will say to the players before the match. However, these will definitely be special matches – the opening of the championship and these matches represent many things. Romania has a solid technical arsenal. They not only push the ball forward – they know how to play with it." Anghel Iordanescu (Romania): "I hope France will start the match aggressively, but I am confident that our players are ready to control their attempt to dominate in these matches. I think the French have a frightening team in attack, and their players are worth millions. But we will stick to our strategy – we don't just want to defend, we want to play a balanced game. France will also have to defend against our attacks." Players to watch: France: Paul Pogba France has many top-level players, and most of them play in the defensive line, but there are few players like Pogba in the world. The Juventus star can play in all roles in the center and has already proven that he can be a leader of the French team and lead them to victory. Romania: Vlad Chiriches The last season wasn't the best in Chiriches' career – the Romanian was not a starter in Napoli. However, in his national team, he is still one of the most important players, and in the national team, he will wear the captain's armband. In these matches, Romanians will have to defend more often than attack, and for the team to achieve a positive result, the defender will have to play a good game. Predicted lineups: France: Lloris; Sagna, Rami, Koscielny, Evra; Pogba, Kante, Matuidi; Griezmann, Giroud, Payet. Romania: Tatarusanu; Sapunaru, Chiriches, Grigore, Rat; Hoban, Pintilii; Popa, Stanciu, Stancu; Keseru. What specialists predict: Francisco Salazazas ("Latin Post"): France will quickly and easily handle their opponents and win the match 4-1. Both Giroud and Griezmann will stand out for the hosts. Jason Le Miere ("IB Times"): It will be a convincing victory for France at the end of the match. Romania has only one player (Chiriches) who plays in a top-level team. Although in friendly matches Romanians displayed an attractive game with a 3-4 result against Ukraine and 5-1 win against Georgia, in these matches, it's hard to expect them to try attacking football. The start of the match for the French may be difficult due to the pressure, but players like Griezmann and Pogba should handle that excitement and ensure a secure victory for the team. France 2 – 0 Romania. Soumalya Moitra ("Sports Skeeda"): The most important aspect of this match will be the battle between Romania's tactical discipline and the host's ability to create in attack. My prediction for this match is France will defeat their opponents by a score of 2-1. Gianluca Filosi ("Outside 90"): France should start the match attacking and pressing their opponents. However, this tactic could cost them, as their defensive line could be exposed to counterattacks, especially when their defenders are not as impressive as the defenders of other teams. Nevertheless, I predict a 2-0 victory for France. Interesting facts: In official matches, France has not lost to Romania (3 wins, 5 draws); Counting friendly matches as well, the French have won 7 matches out of 15 against the Romanians (5 draws, 3 losses); Four out of the last five matches between these teams ended in a draw; These teams previously met in the group stage of the 2008 European Championship. The match ended in a 0-0 draw, and neither team advanced past the group stage. Almost 20 years ago, in the match between these teams, France defeated their opponents 1-0, and then current national team coach Didier Deschamps scored the winning goal; Romania will meet France in the European Championship for the third time – they rarely face each other with any other national team in continental competitions."
