“I hope now, at the World Cup, I’m going to take the reins of the France team, try to be the boss on and off the pitch.”
Paul Pogba spoke bullishly about his upcoming role and responsibilities for the French team at World cup 2018.
In an interview given in mid May, the Manchester United midfielder declared he had been ‘the best young player’ at World Cup 2014. He stated that his aim was to the best overall player in Russia this summer.
France is in the midst of their World Cup warm-ups and they followed up a 2-0 win over Ireland with a 3-1 victory against Italy, on Friday.
Goals from Smauel Umtiti, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele were enough to see of the Azzurri but Pogba did not have an easy time of it. Less than 24 hours after Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris urged his compatriot to step up and become ‘a leader’ for his team, the 25-year-old logged a performance that many United fans will be well familiar with.
Pogba had some nice touches but he was lacklustre for long stretches and sloppy in possession. Home supporters in Nice whistled and cat-called when intended passes to the likes of Griezmann, Dembele and Thomas Lemar went astray. Florian Thauvin was also on the receiving end of some whistles from sections of the home crowd.
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He teed up Lucas Hernandez with one superb cross and set Griezmann free with a deft touch but the indifferent and nonchalant outweighed the good.
Pogba was substituted in the 85th minute, Steven N’Zonzi coming on in his stead, and sections of the Nice crowd jeered and booed as he made his way to the sideline.
The French media reports following the game were none too kind either. Le Point ran a widely circulated AFP-piece that accused Pogba of drifting in and out of the game and being far too casual in possession.
Le Figaro went one step further and included him in their ‘flops’ following the French win. Reporter Teddy Vadeevaloo declared Pogba was ‘non-existent’ in midfield and noted, ‘The Nice public hissed at his exit’. RMC Sport ran a post-match discussion entitled, ‘Should we be worried about Paul Pogba?’
Asked about the reaction when the midfielder was subbed off, French coach Didier Deschamps responded:
“I will not dwell on it, but it would be better if it did not happen.”
These friendly matches will soon be forgotten if France, and Pogba, can perform well at the World Cup. However, a star player being booed and heckled by home fans just weeks out from the tournament in certainly an unwelcome way to leave matters before the squad flies east.
