Slow death in the afternoon

FRANCE v Romania. Oh dear. Let’s blame it on the weather, shall we?

For the first time this week blue skies and soaring temperatures arrived in Switzerland and the shock must have been too great for the footballers of France and Romania who staggered their way through a 0-0 snooze-fest in the Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich. By the end, even the trumpeting sun had wearied of the game, as huge thunder clouds massed over the departing fans.

The colourful Romanian fans were still singing, however, clearly viewing the draw as something to celebrate and apparently unconcerned about their team’s shameful lack of ambition. Much admiration had been expressed in advance for their talisman Adrian Mutu, after he chose to stay with the camp despite the death of his grandmother in Romania. But so stultifying was the fare on offer last night that watching Irish eyes found themselves distracted by the mean notion that the Romanian FA should check out that the old lady really is no longer with us. Just in case, like.