The hosts did not have it all their own way in their opening encounter with Romania last Friday, with Dimitri Payet’s late wonder strike seeing them snatch all three points when a draw was looking the most likely outcome. It was far from a convincing display from the hosts, who looked nervy at times and presented Romania with a number of presentable openings, but they ultimately did what they had to do by recording a victory on matchday one. Opening games always seem to be tricky occasions for host nations to handle, so it was important that France picked up three points by any means necessary even if the overall display left a lot to be desired.
Nevertheless, Didier Deschamps will probably be expecting an improvement from his team when they take on Albania at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille. As well as looking a little shaky at the back – left-back Patrice Evra, who conceded the penalty that allowed Romania to get back on level terms, was particularly vulnerable – France lacked cohesion going forward, with Payet the only attacking player who combined well with teammates and made things happen in the final third.
The West Ham United playmaker could be moved into a more central role against Albania, with his redeployment in the second half on Friday key to France ultimately winning the game, while Antoine Griezmann could perhaps move up front in place of Olivier Giroud. Leicester City midfielder N’Golo Kante was another player who impressed last time out, with his energy, anticipation and ability to win the ball back for his team likely to be important when it comes to cutting out Albanian counter-attacks.
Albania, for their part, were slightly unlucky to leave Lens empty-handed on Saturday following a narrow 1-0 defeat by Switzerland. The Swiss started strongly and took the lead early on through Fabian Schar, but Albania more than held their own for much of the encounter and would have picked up something from the match had they demonstrated more of a clinical edge in front of goal. The sending-off of captain Lorik Cana in the first half clearly did not help either, and while the former Sunderland man must take full responsibility for his dismissal, Albania did extremely well to stay in the game right up until the final whistle.
Despite those positives for Gianni De Biasi’s side, it is difficult to look past a comfortable France victory on Wednesday evening. The hosts should be a great deal more relaxed in their second fixture, and the quality they have going forward means Albania will struggle to keep them out. A 3-0 triumph for Les Bleus could be the best bet in terms of the correct scoreline market, while Griezmann to get his name on the scoresheet for the first time at the European Championship looks like another wager that is worth backing.
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