We witnessed the opening of the European Championship in Saint-Denis last night, where Dimitri Payet single-handedly (one goal, one assist) earned three important points for France against a mighty Romanian side at the Stade de France. The other Group A match was between Albania and Switzerland at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens earlier tonight.
Vladimir Petkovic’s side scored the only goal of the match in the early stages of the game when Fabian Schaer headed the ball in the goal from a Xherdan Shaqiri corner, after Albanian goalkeeper Etrit Berisha misjudged the cross to allow the Hoffenheim defender a free header.
Things got from bad to worse for Albania when team captain Lorik Cana was handed a second yellow for literally blocking the ball with his hand outside the penalty box on the 36th minute.
Switzerland continued attacking from that moment but just could not find the back of the net, whereas Albania produced a fantastic display but were unfortunate not to equalize.
Here are the three players that impressed the most:
Fabian Schaer
The 24 year-old centre-back was rock solid in the heart of the defence alongside ex-Arsenal defender Johan Djourou. He was consistent in producing a number of important clearances for his side as well as persistent in marching the team forward throughout the entire match. The six-foot-one defender also scored the only goal of the match to give his country the win.
Granit Xhaka
The highlight of the night was the tale of the two brothers, between Arsenal’s new signing Granit Xhaka and his Albanian brother Taulant Xhaka. However, it was the former who won the battle of the Xhaka’s and rightfully so because of his tireless effort in the middle of the park. The Swiss international also helped out in creating a number of chances for his side.
Yann Sommer
The Borussia Mönchengladbach goalkeeper was outstanding between the sticks tonight as not only he earned the first clean sheet of the tournament, but his incredible display won the hearts of the Switzerland fans and viewers from all over the world. The ex-FC Basel man also made the most important save of the match when he denied a one-on-one effort from Shkelzen Gashi in the dying stages of the European Championship group stage match.
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