Rivière double accounts for Romania

A first-half double from Emmanuel Rivière inspired France to victory in Romania and a share of the qualifying Group 9 lead with Slovakia.

France took advantage of a nervy start from the hosts by opening the scoring after 16 minutes, Rémi Cabella crossing from the right for Rivière, who was left with the simple task of beating goalkeeper Dinu Moldovan. The Toulouse FC striker repeated the feat two minutes before half-time when he was unmarked in the penalty area again.

Any hope Romania had of getting back into the game disappeared midway through the second half when Ionuţ Gugu received his second booking for a foul on Cabella. The reverse fixture takes place on 10 November, when France will try to extend their winning start in 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying to four matches.