And We're Off

Patrice Evra is 35. We know he is 35 because the commentator for the France v Romania match told us he was 35 repeatedly. This is important, as if you were to guess his age on last night's performance you would probably go for something a little nearer 135.

Evra was beaten time and time again by the right side of Romania's attack and looked a liability all night - including the moment when he forgot he wasn't playing for Juventus and gave away the penalty that Romania scored to draw level.

And it was the defence that looked the weak link last night for the ultimately victorious French. Pogba was doing his thing, splitting the Romanian side with his inch perfect passes, until he was taken off - and Payet showed once again why it would not be a surprise if he moved to a club playing in the Champions League next season.

Romania were unlucky to not come away with a point but Payet's moment of brilliance means that, with only eight nations not qualifying for the knockout phase, France are already as good as through.

A few other things to mention from last night's opening match:

• Slaven Bilic's hair kind of freaked me out but he was a great pundit - ITV need all the help they can get on that front
• The white strands in Emmanuel Petit's beard are the only signs that he has aged in the last 20 years
• I need to find out where you can buy a Romania tracksuit top

And now to today's matches...

Albania v Switzerland: Those of you who read my preview the other day will know that I think Albania could surprise a few people in this tournament. Switzerland are a good side but have been going through a bit of a bad patch so I'm going for a 1-1 draw

Wales v Slovakia: A moment I wasn't sure I would ever see - Wales playing in a major international tournament. Obviously Gareth Bale is the key here as the rest of the team always visibly raise their game when he is on form. As much as I would love a win for Wales I think this one may be a 1-1 draw as well.

England v Russia: England look worryingly good - although there is still plenty of time for them to implode spectacularly of course. The combination of Dele Alli and Harry Kane is a revelation for Roy Hodgson's side and if they play Vardy as an impact super sub, England should win this fairly comfortably. I'm going for 2-0.

So three games in a day - this is what international competitions are all about! Come back here tomorrow when I'll carry out the post-mortem on today's games.