Antoine Griezmann and Dimitri Payet scored the goals as France beat Albania 2-0 to make it two wins from two and qualify for the last 16.

France, for all their territorial superiority, failed to register a single shot on target until Griezmann made a decisive intervention in injury time.

Albania swept forward in search of a leveller but were hit with the ultimate sucker punch as Payet finished off a quick French break to secure France all three points.

The result leaves France on a maximum of six points from their opening two games, with Albania bottom after two losses from two.

Switzerland are second after drawing 1-1 with Romania earlier in the day.

There was plenty of speculation in the build-up to the game that Didier Deschamps was planning to drop Griezmann and Paul Pogba, and the team news revealed that both players were left on the bench as part of a tactical reshuffle by the French.

Major tournament debuts for Kingsley Coman and Anthony Martial was supposed to stretch the play and allow France to get in behind the Albanian defence, but the switch of style failed to click in a below-par first half that saw neither side able to conjure up anything resembling a clear-cut chance.

Pogba came off the bench at half-time and the pace of the game immediately improved, but it was Albania who came the closest to opening the scoring when Bacary Sagna turned a cross against his own post soon after the restart.

Griezmann replaced the lively Coman midway through the second half and the intensity went up another notch following the Atletico Madrid striker’s introduction.

Centre-forward Olivier Giroud hit the post as France threw more and more bodies forward, but Albania were unable to hold on as an unmarked Griezmann picked out the bottom corner of the net with a lovely header to make it 1-0 in the 90th minute and prove a point to his manager.

And Payet finished the game off with a clinical finish late in stoppage time to skew the scoreline in France’s favour.

 -

Follow Joy Sports on Twitter: @JoySportsGH. Our hashtag is #JoySports