Speaking about Paul Pogba’s performance in France’s loss to Switzerland in the Euro 2020 Round of 16 clash, Gary Neville told ITV: “We saw the best and the worst of him in the second half.
“This is the best of him, absolutely world class strike. Brilliant. At this point in the game, he’d played a great pass through just before that, he was starting to get into the game, combining, he was running the game.
“When your team is on top, he’s absolutely outstanding. He takes risks on the ball, but you want those risks to be in the final third, not in the defensive third, and they get counter-attacked on.”
Roy Keane agreed with his former Man United teammate, adding: “He can be frustrating. This is all a part of Paul’s character, which people love to see, but then I’d be looking at the goal they conceded in injury time, where he was sloppy in midfield. That’s the bit I’d be really critical about.
“It seems harsh because he’s done some brilliant stuff going forward tonight. There’s no doubting Paul’s quality, just the other side, maybe his maturity. We’ve mentioned all night, and United have had the same problem, can he play in a two in midfield? He probably can’t, doesn’t have the discipline.
“He was at his best in Juventus when he probably got a bit more freedom and was surrounded by more men, more characters, probably better quality players. But even today, he still leaves you frustrated. For all his brilliant quality coming forward, I still think he lacks that discipline defensively [to take him to the next level].
“That’s the key, the top players manage to do it week in week out and Paul, to me, still doesn’t quite do it.”
Pogba was arguably one of France’s best players against Switzerland – scoring an outstanding goal and recording some very good stats. The Frenchman, however, did lose control of possession and allowed the Swiss counter-attack that resulted in their third goal to force extra time.
Switzerland ended up holding out until penalty shoot-outs, where they won after converting their own penalties and Yan Sommer saving Kylian Mbappe’s final penalty to eliminate France.
