Wembley Stadium yesterday "became the site of an emotional French tribute" around a France-England soccer friendly. Prior to the match, France manager Didier Deschamps and England manager Roy Hodgson "flanked Prince William to lay floral wreaths on the field to commemorate the victims of Friday's attacks." They were joined by U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron. The London venue was lit up in "the colors of the French flag" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/18). French and English fans "stood and sang together" the French national anthem, La Marseillaise. England won the match 2-0 (N.Y. TIMES, 11/18).
Octagon Chief Strategy Officer Simon Wardle was at last night’s game, and it was “yet another example of the power of sports.” Wardle: “The word I would use to describe the match is ‘unity.’ Usually you go to sporting events to support your team. But in this particular case, it was the English fans supporting the French people, showing a sense of community, a shared brothership and fraternity.” For more of Wardle’s thoughts on the game, see today’s issue of THE DAILY (Charlie Frankel, Staff Writer).
