Pogba shines as France top Euro 2016 group
Dull 0-0 draw with Switzerland sees hosts go through as group winners
Paul Pogba shone through the mediocrity as hosts France secured top spot in Euro 2016 Group A following a subdued 0-0 draw with Switzerland in Lille on Sunday.
A game that featured a substandard pitch, ripped Switzerland shirts and a burst ball concluded in a mutually convenient result that allowed the Swiss to join Didier Deschamps’s France in the last 16.
But Pogba, dogged by controversy over an alleged contentious gesture prior to the game, did his best to illuminate proceedings, hitting the bar twice, as did French substitute Dimitri Payet late in the game.
As group winners, France will face the third-place team in either Group C, D or E in Lyon on June 26, while Switzerland will come up against either Germany, Poland or Northern Ireland a day earlier.
“We had the chances and hit the bar twice. We were there to secure first place and we did it, so it is mission accomplished,” France coach Deschamps told TV station M6.
Deschamps added: “Now a new competition is going to start for us next Sunday. We have a long week ahead of us and that will give us time to prepare.”