Romania 1-1 Switzerland, Uefa Euro 2016 - Teams share the spoils in Group A clash

Full-time: Romania 1-1 Switzerland

All over in Paris! An entertaining game and although the Swiss largely dominated, they probably didn't do enough to earn the three points.

After that result, though, the Romanians stand on the cusp of elimination.

There will be three minutes of added time. Shaqiri is being substituted, by the way. It's not really been his day.

Too many of Switzerland's big-name players have under-performed this afternoon. Xhaka and Rodriguez, in particular, have failed to match my pre-game expectations.

This game is drifting towards a draw with less than five mins left.

The goalscorer Stancu comes off now, having run himself into the ground for Romania. Andone is the man to replace him. Meanwhile, Dzemaili is replaced by Rico Lang.

There are ten minutes left in the game in Paris, meaning we still have enough time for a hero to step forward.

Dzemaili hits a first-time volley MILES over the bar. That was an ambitious effort, it must be said, but the Romanians are visibly tiring.

Grigore goes into the book after bringing down Embolo, who has definitely added something to this Swiss side.

He is the fourth Romanian to go into the book. Freekick in a dangerous position... and it comes to nothing. The Romanians can breathe easy again.

Shaqiri now tries an eye-catching overhead kick. That one is still rising, as they say.

Torje lines up a free-kick from distance and almost catches the Swiss keeper by surprise.

We have less than 20 minutes to play in Paris and this game is on a knife edge. Can either team find a winner?

Embolo almost makes an immediate impression. The pacey forward gets his head to a right wing cross, but can't make a clean connection with the ball and it spins wide of the post. A little warning for the Romanians that, though.

The Swiss are having an increasing amount of control. And with Embolo up front, they have a bit of pace and power to go with their possession.

Romania, for their part, look like they might be happy with a point at this stage.

Embolo, who has been linked with Manchester United in recent days, is coming on. He gets a big cheer from the Swiss fans - everybody is expecting him to become something special. He's got more than 20 minutes to make an impression.

Shaqiri now has an effort from distance that goes about a yard over the bar. The Stoke City man has been having an increasing influence on the game since half-time.

GOAL: Romania 1-1 Switzerland

Game on in Paris, now! The ball drops to Mehmedi in the box... he composes himself and lashes it into the net!

A quality strike and boy, Switzerland needed that.

We're approaching the hour mark in Paris and I fancy it is time the Swiss make a change. For all their possession, their threat comes in fits and starts.

Embolo would definitely add a bit of pace and energy to their rather sterile-looking forward line.

Oh, wow. Djourou goes perilously close to putting the ball in his own net. A ball is clipped across the goalmouth and the former Arsenal man just - and I mean just - pokes it agonisingly wide of his own net. A seriously close shave, that.

Although they've conceded the occasional chance, this is a determined and well-organised defence Romania have got.

Having said that, they will not want to invite pressure on themselves; they must continue to look for a match-winning second goal.

How much longer until the Swiss introduce Embolo? The teenager is one of the most exciting young players at this tournament, and looked impressive in their opening fixture.

Right, we're back under way in the game in Paris. Let's hope the second period is as good as the first, eh.

Half-time: Romania 1-0 Switzerland

Well, those 45 minutes have flown by, in truth. The Swiss started much the brighter, but the penalty proved to be a real turning point in the match.

Since then, it's been very even stuff - and it's still all to play for after the break.

Lichtsteinier almost gets in again. The defender - who is totally unmarked in the box - gets a ball lobbed into him at head-height, but he can't quite direct it past the keeper. How we've only seen the one goal, I've no idea.

Anyway, we're into added time at the end of the first half.

Less than five minutes to go until the interval now and this has been a thoroughly enjoyable game thus far. Romania lead but both teams have created good chances in the opening period.

Now a good chance for the Swiss - it really is end-to-end stuff, this.

The Swiss launch an attack up the right side, and a cross is lobbed up into the air. Lichtsteinier gets his head to the ball but sends it wide of the post. Should have done better from that position.

Away from the match in Paris, IBTimes UK reporter Paul Wright is currently with the England fans in Lille ahead of their big game tomorrow against Wales.

Rodriguez swings the ball over from the left side again, but the Romanians are able to scramble it clear. After a nervous opening to the match, they have really settled down since the goal.

The Swiss continue to dominate possession, but it's a very even contest at this stage.

Romania go close to making it 2-0 now. They launch an attack down the left side, where Chipciu hits a fierce shot just wide of the post.

A couple of minutes later, Sapunaru swivels and stabs a loose ball at goal - but it bounces back off the post. This game has has been turned on its head.

The Swiss almost respond in style, with Schar hitting a dipping volley from distance that has to be tipped over the bar. We've got a really good game on our hands in Paris.

GOAL: Romania 1-0 Switzerland (Stancu)

Completely against the run of play, this, but Romania have taken the lead. Stephan Lichtsteiner pulled a Swiss player down in the box and the ref points to the spot.

A neat finish from 12 yards from Stancu and the Romanians are in front.

Haris Seferovic is through again and looks certain to score but his low, goal-bound effort is well blocked by Tatarusanu in net. Another close call for the Romanians, though.

Finally the Romanians are able to get their feet on the ball, easing some of the pressure on their sturdy-looking defence. It really is a case of defence versus attack here this afternoon. Who will win the day...?

Rodriguez swings over a freekick from the left side, but there is a foul in the middle and Romania survive.

It's a good thing the Romanians have a solid backline, because they've barely had a kick in the Swiss half in the opening ten minutes.

The Swiss are a very attack-minded side and it shows in the early stages. They're willing to throw men forward in numbers, with Shaqiri at the hub of everything good they're doing.

Haris Seferović has the first half-opening of the game, turning in the box and striking a right-footed effort just wide of the upright. That was a delightful piece of skill from the big forward, it must be said.

Xherdan Shaqiri has the first effort on goal, but it takes a deflection and is easily saved. The game is largely being played in the Romania half for the moment, though.

It's Switzerland in red and Romania in their distinctive yellow strip. The game is being played in a sun-drenched Paris and the atmosphere is crackling.

We're underway at the Parc des Princes.

Romania arrived in the tunnel somewhat belatedly. They're here now, though, and they'll need to be right on it from the first whistle to get themselves back in the tournament.

Ahead of the match, the Swiss have been rocked by Xherdan Shaqiri's threat to switch his nationality after he was overlooked for the captaincy. One wonders how that might impact the pre-match favourites.

Anyway, the anthems are done and dusted - here we go!

Right, the players are just finishing their last-minute preparations in Paris. Not long to wait until kick-off now.

Switzerland will be looking for an improved performance and three more points this afternoon.

Ahead of the tournament, IBTimes UK's reporters compiled a player to watch profile for each of the teams at Euro 2016.

Vlad Chiriches was the man my colleague George Flood chose for the Romanians. Here's what George had to say about the former Tottenham Hotspur player.

Pre-match stats

• Each side has recorded five wins, with two draws, in 12 previous meetings.
• The only previous encounter at a major tournament was at the 1994 World Cup, when the Swiss one 4-1.
• Romania have failed to score more than one goal in their last eight matches against Switzerland.

There's half an hour to go until kick-off, now. The players are busily preparing for this crunch encounter and the fans are soaking up the summer sun in Paris.

Anyway, just reflecting a bit on the team news we received a little earlier... Romania have made four changes for their second game in the French capital.

Meanwhile, the Swiss are unchanged, even though they were a little underwhelming in their opener. On their bench, again, is the highly-rated teenage forward Breel Embolo, who has been linked with Manchester United.

Switzerland can virtually secure their place in the round of 16 with a win over Romania in Paris. One thing is for sure: they will not want to go into their last game against France needing something to progress.

There are less than 45 minutes until kick-off now and the crowd is beginning to slowly build.

From a Premier League fan's viewpoint, most eyes will be fixed on Arsenal's big-money summer signing Granit Xhaka, who is swapping the Bundesliga for north London in the coming weeks.

Elsewhere, Ricardo Rodríguez has been persistently linked with a move to England in recent months, too, and has admitted he is keen to leave his current club Wolfsburg. He's in the shop window a bit this afternoon.

Breaking team news:

Right, the all-important team news is in and they are as follows...

Romania: Tatarusanu, Sapunaru, Chiriches, Grigore, Rat, Prepelita, Pintilii, Torje, Stancu, Chipciu, Keseru.

Subs: Pantilimon, Matel, Moti, Hoban, Alibec, Stanciu, Andone, Gaman,
Filip, Sanmartean, Popa, Lung.

Switzerland: Sommer, Lichtsteiner, Schar, Djourou, Rodriguez, Behrami, Xhaka, Shaqiri, Dzemaili, Mehmedi, Seferovic.

Subs: Hitz, Moubandje, Elvedi, von Bergen, Lang, Embolo, Frei, Zakaria, Fernandes, Tarashaj, Derdiyok, Burki.

Unfortunately, the tournament to date has been largely overshadowed by off-field events in France, where hooliganism has reared its ugly head.

This afternoon, we've been speaking to fans on the ground to get a clearer idea of what has been going on around the tournament.

Moments ago, Slovakia defeated Russia 2-1 to put the Russians on the brink of elimination from the tournament.

The game was illuminated by a wonderful solo performance from the highly-rated Slovak star Marik Hamsik, who produced a stunning second goal late in the first-half. It's certainly one of the strikes of the tournament to date.

Uefa Euro 2016 team of matchday one

Most teams have only played a single game in the tournament thus far, but we've been busily working away on a team of the competition after matchday one.

My colleague Eduardo Fernandez-Abascal has put together his 11, although there are sure to be one or two contentious choices thrown in there.

At least one inclusion is beyond debate, I think.

What managers say

Vladimir Petkovic (Switzerland): "Romania could have beaten France, so we need to improve on our own below-par performance against Albania. Basically, we need to extend what we did in the first 20, 30 minutes against Albania to the whole 90 minutes.

"I was impressed by the Romania side as a whole on Friday. They were composed, with a clear tactical formation. Now we'll see if they can match those levels again. If you want to beat them, you have to be at your best."

What managers say

Anghel Iordanescu (Romania): "It's an extremely important game for us and for Romanian football. After the France match, the first problem for our team was physical and mental recuperation.

"We hope we can be physically prepared for this one. We had a very good game against France on Friday; we had a few chances to score but we have to accept that France deserved the three points."

Preview

Switzerland come into the match level on points with group leaders France after a 1-0 win over Albania in their first Group A clash. The Swiss looked composed for most of the match, but the Albanians did make inroads into their defence and came up with a few chances during the game.

On the other hand, Romania come into the game following a 2-1 loss to hosts and pre-tournament favourites France. It took a last-minute stunner from West Ham's Dimitri Payet to secure the points in a game which was end to end right from the start.

Good afternoon and welcome to IBTimes UK's coverage of this crunch Group A clash at the Parc des Princes.

Romania lost their opening fixture to France and are, therefore, in desperate need of a win, while Switzerland - who won their first game against Albania - will be seeking a much-improved performance this afternoon.

We'll bring you the all-important team news soon.