France maestro Payet gets payback with stunning winner (Reuters)

By Philip O'Connor PARIS (Reuters) - Walking off the pitch in tears after scoring a stunning late winner for France against Romania in the Euro 2016 opener on Friday, it was hard to believe man-of-the-match Dimitri Payet almost did not make the squad. The mercurial midfielder, who created the first goal before firing the clincher in the 89th minute in the hosts' 2-1 Group A victory over a stubborn Romania, was until recently a peripheral player in the mind of France coach Didier Deschamps. "To be here tonight and score is the result of a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifices," the 29-year-old Payet said of his long road back from the international wilderness.