Flying start for the Frenchmen

Bruges, Belgium, JUNE 12:France's bid to add the European title to their world crown got off to a blistering start with an impressive 3-0 ...

Bruges, Belgium, JUNE 12:France’s bid to add the European title to their world crown got off to a blistering start with an impressive 3-0 win over Denmark in the Euro 2000 Group D Opener here on Sunday.

Roger Lemerre’s side, with eight players in their starting line-up who played some part in the 3-0 win over Brazil in the World Cup final, proved too strong in the end for a Danish team missing a string of key players through injury.

Veteran defender Laurent Blanc opened the scoring after 16 minutes before strikers Thierry Henry and Sylvain Wiltord, a second half substitute for Nicolas Anelka, netted after the interval to give the French a comfortable victory.

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Veteran defender Blanc, who revealed he would leave the international stage after Euro 2000, fired Les Bleus into the lead in the 16th minute with his 16th goal for France. Anelka, who had fluffed too earlier chances, raced towards goal and when goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel burst off his line to challenge the Real Madrid striker the ball spun loose to the right of the area.

With no defenders in sight, 34-year-old Blanc, who had made a surging run from deep, lashed a low shot into the back of the net with Schmeichel scrambling to make it back to his line. That steadied French nerves after an early Danish onslaught.

But Henry put the result beyond doubt after 64 minutes with an individual goal of the highest quality. Racing onto a Zinedine Zidane pass he sprinted out of the French half into the left of the Denmark area and tucked a neat shot into the far corner.

France finished the match with a flourish when Wiltord rounded off a superb move. Zidane burst through the middle and laid the ball off for the overlapping Patrick Vieira who slid the ball across goal for the Bordeaux striker to score at the far post.