On the same day the book closes on the storied life of the late, great Muhammad Ali, a new story will begin to unfold on the other side of the Atlantic.

EURO 2016 kicks off at 3 p.m. (EST) today, with the opening match between, host nation France, and Romania at the Stade de France in Paris, highlighting one of the most-watched sporting events in the world.

EURO pits Europe’s top national teams against one another in a winner-take-all tournament that runs exactly one month, culminating with the final on July 10.

The last French-hosted soccer tournament took place in 1998 when France hosted the World Cup and promptly took home the title with a 3-nil win over Brazil in the finale.

French Manager Didier Deschamps left Real Madrid star Karim Benzema off of his roster for EURO, which was met with much criticism, as well as accusations of racism launched by Benzema and others.

READ: Benzema Accuses Manage Of Racism

Deschamps refused to go into detail regarding his pep talk with players ahead of the tourney’s opener, but he did allow time to discuss the emotion surrounding the opening match.

“It’s the opening match and everything that it represents … You need to have that feeling in the pit of your stomach, that clenched jaw when you walk out onto the pitch,” Deschamps said.

France enters the tilt with a 10-match unbeaten streak against Romania, but that doesn’t mean the hosts are taking their opponents lightly.

Both Deschamps and captain Hugo Lloris believe the hype surrounding the idea that France is the favorite, not only in the opening match, but in the tournament as a whole, is a bit premature.

“We don’t feel like favorites,” the French goaltender said. “We’ve done nothing. We’ve proved nothing.”

Lloris’ comments come in reference to a nine-match winning streak that the French have mustered in their recent experience on the pitch. But Lloris dismissed the streak as merely a confidence builder that could maybe generate a little more noise in their home stadiums, but nothing more.

Deschamps offered a more technical assessment.

“(Romania) have a solid base. They don’t just whack the ball into touch, they know how to use the ball.”

France’s manager has cause for concern, the Romanians have drawn four of the last five contests between the two teams.

Romania’s head coach Anghel Iordenscu believes his team will be fighting an uphill battle, but cautions that there is no reason to believe his side cannot prevail.

“I expect France to begin the match in aggressive fashion but I’m sure my players are ready and determined to overcome these spells of domination,” Iordanescu said. “We are going to follow our strategy, we don’t want to simply play defensively, we want a balanced style of play. France do have some shortcomings at the back.”

PREDICTION:

France- 2 Romania- 1

France is too seasoned and the energy of the crowd will be all they need to lift themselves to victory in the opening match. Lloris will get the back organized and may even scratch his name on the scoresheet. Another draw is possible, but I find it hard to believe that France will fail to secure victory on its home turf in the opening match of EURO 2016.

France striker Karim Benzema has complained that the national team manager Didier Deschamps “bowed to the pressure of a racist part of France” when making the decision to omit him from the squad for the Euro 2016 tournament.

Karim Benzema Accuses Manager Didier Deschamps Of ‘Bowing To Racists’

Benzema has scored 27 goals in 81 appearances for his country, but will not participate in the championship finals on home soil this summer after being suspended by the French Football Federation (FFF) last December.

The decision related to the Real Madrid forward being placed under criminal investigation over an attempt to blackmail international teammate Mathieu Valbuena in relation to a sex-tape. FFF president Noël Le Graët stated it was crucial for the sake of “strong harmony” within the squad that Benzema, 28, was not chosen to play.

Deschamps, 47, supported the decision, something Benzema criticized in an interview with Spanish newspaper Marca, alleging it had more to do with his North African origins than the scandal with Valbuena.

“He [Deschamps] has bowed to the pressure of a racist part of France,” said Benzema, who is of Algerian heritage. “He has to know that in France the extremist party reached the second round in the last two elections.”

The striker scored 29 goals for Real Madrid last season as the club finished second in La Liga and won the Champions League.

“I do not know, therefore, whether it is a decision only for Didier because I’ve gotten along with him, with the president, everyone,” Benzema continued. “I do not have a problem with anyone. I am with France and wish them well.”

Benzema’s remarks come on the heels of those made by former Manchester United forward Eric Cantona, 50, who in an interview with the Guardian questioned Deschamps’ decision to leave not only Benzema but also OGC Nice midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa, who is also of North African heritage, out of France’s Euro 2016 squad.

“Deschamps, he has a really French name,” Cantona said. “Maybe he is the only one in France to have a truly French name. Nobody in his family mixed with anybody, you know. Like the Mormons in America.

“So I’m not surprised he used the situation of Benzema not to take him,” Cantona continued. “Especially after [Manuel] Valls [the French prime minister] said he should not play for France. And Ben Arfa is maybe the best player in France today. But they have some origins. I am allowed to think about that.”

Deschamps’ lawyer, Carlos Brusa, responded to Cantona’s comments by saying he was launching proceedings against the former Man U star to penalize “the unacceptable slanderous and defamatory statements that harm Mr Deschamps’s integrity”. Le Graët also described Cantona’s remarks as “ridiculous”.

France’s junior minister for sports, Thierry Braillard, took to Twitter to call Benzema’s statements to Marca “unjustified and unacceptable. Total support to FFF and Didier Deschamps”.

Here is the final 23-man French squad selected to play in Euro 2016:

Goalkeepers: Benoit Costil (Rennes), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Steve Mandanda (Marseille).

Defenders: Lucas Digne (Roma), Patrice Evra (Juventus), Christophe Jallet (Lyon), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Eliaquim Mangala (Manchester City), Samuel Umtiti (Lyon), Bacary Sagna (Manchester City), Adil Rami (Sevilla).

Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace), Morgan Scheiderlin (Manchester United), N’Golo Kante (Leicester), Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain), Paul Pogba (Juventus), Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle).

Forwards: Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Andre-Pierre Gignac (Tigres), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Anthony Martial (Manchester United), Dimitri Payet (West Ham).

The tournament begins in Paris on June 10.

MADRID, SPAIN – OCTOBER 04:  Karim Benzema of Real Madrid celebrates after scoring Real’s opening goal during the La Liga match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid at Vicente Calderon Stadium on October 4, 2015 in Madrid, Spain.  (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)