France Squeeze Past Sweden but Deschamps Needs to Release Paul Pogba to Progress

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at Internationaled.org

Published: November 18, 2014

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France relied on a late Raphael Varane header to defeat Sweden 1-0 in Tuesday night's friendly at the Stade Velodrome. It was the second of France's two friendlies during this international break, and if Les Bleus want to become serious contenders for the Euro 2016 crown, Didier Deschamps needs to allow Paul Pogba a free role or risk wasting one of France's most dangerous weapons.

In Friday night's 1-1 draw with Albania, Deschamps altered his side into a 4-3-1-2 with Pogba playing beside both Moussa Sissoko and Yohan Cabaye, giving Pogba the freedom to find space and be a more creative part of the France attack.

On Tuesday, Deschamps switched it up again—analysed here—this time playing 4-2-3-1 with Pogba lined up beside Wolfsburg's Josuha Guilavogui behind the attacking trio of Mathieu Valbuena, Dimitri Payet and Antoine Griezmann.

Playing alongside the more inexperienced Guilavogui, Pogba had to show a more disciplined side to his game, but in doing that, it hampered his natural attacking instincts, and after a bright start, it was clear to see frustration creep into the 21-year-old's performance.

In the opening 10 minutes, Pogba was happy to ping the ball around the pitch. The sweeping passes gave the impression he was in the mood to put Sweden to the sword.

However, as the first half developed, the passes became more erratic, and Pogba's influence began to wane.

Undoubtedly, the best moment of the first half came after just 11 minutes. Pogba, in a rare foray out of the deep-lying role, picked the ball up on the edge of the box, and his delightful chip with the outside of his right boot found the on-rushing Layvin Kurzawa, but the left-back could only volley his effort over the bar.



According to the chalkboard from WhoScored.com, that was the highest up the pitch—apart from during a set-piece—that Pogba touched the ball in the first half. It is ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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