Romania 1-1 Switzerland: Admir Mehmedi earns point for Swiss

Admir Mehmedi fired a second-half equaliser for Switzerland as they drew 1-1 with Romania in Group A at the Parc des Princes.

Romania, who were beaten 2-1 by France in their opening game at Euro 2016, took the lead after 18 minutes when Bogdan Stancu netted from the penalty spot - just as he had done against the tournament hosts last Friday night.

But Mehmedi then levelled the game 12 minutes after the break as the Swiss moved onto four points from two games, keeping them second behind France - who qualified for the last-16 with a 2-0 win over Albania. 

The result puts Switzerland in a great position to qualify for the knockout stages of the European Championship for the first time in their history, while Romania will likely need a win in their final game against Albania to stand a chance to progress to the last-16.

Switzerland were unchanged from their opening win over Albania and started the better in Paris, nearly taking the lead inside seven minutes.

A poor header from defender Dragos Grigore presented Blerim Dzemaili with the opportunity to slip Haris Seferovic in the box, but he bent his shot wide of the post when he should have hit the target at the very least.

And after 16 minutes, the Swiss striker had another glorious chance to put his side in the lead after being played in by Xherdan Shaqiri, but he could only hit the ball straight at Ciprian Tatarusanu in goal for Romania.

Switzerland were then made to pay just two minutes later as Romania took the lead from the spot, Stancu stepping up to send Yann Sommer the wrong way after Stephan Lichtsteiner had tugged back Alexandru Chipciu in the box.

The Swiss continued to dominate but it was Romania who had the next big opportunity after 28 minutes when a free-kick fell to the feet of Cristian Sapunaru six yards out. However, he could only poke his effort onto the outside of the post and wide. 

Johan Djourou almost gifted Romania a second goal seven minutes after half-time as he almost put through his own net, but just about managed to steer Gabriel Torje's cross wide of his own post in an incredibly precarious position.

And Switzerland took advantage of the reprieve as they levelled the game just before the hour mark, Mehmedi thundering his effort home after a Ricardo Rodriguez corner had dropped kindly into his path in the Romania box. 

There was very little goalmouth action in the final third of the game as both sides appeared to be happy with a draw, and Switzerland now face hosts France in their final group game in Lille on Sunday knowing a point will guarantee progression.