The main headline of this morning’s edition of L’Eqipe is focused on the tough moment lived by Paul Pogba who failed to impress in the first game of EURO 2016 against Romania and was benched against Albania before making his entrance at the beginning of the second half.
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‘It is sure that this goal will help me – it is a revenge on the match I had played against Romania. And Payet capped another man of the match performance by firing into the far corner to round off a harsh scoreline on Albania.
The result means Anghel Iordanescu’s men can still qualify for the last 16 from Group A, most likely as one of the four best third-placed teams, providing they can win against tournament debutants Albania on Sunday. Now, in one-on-one situations and challenges, he’s always up for the fight.
Deschamps conceded both Griezmann and Pogba were unhappy to be dropped from the starting XI, but tried to justify his selection. “Scoring late is becoming a habit but, to be honest, I would prefer to break the deadlock a little earlier”, the 47-year-old said. With that system I thought we needed two real scrappers in the middle of the park. As for Griezmann, I am managing him.
“Clearly we didn’t do everything well. He made the difference even though I know he would have preferred to have started the game”, he added. We were able to take an important step towards the next round and to be nearly sure of reaching the last 16, said Swiss coach Vladimir Petkovic.
“What’s great is that the late goals are nothing new”.
The only player to earn a rating to be proud of was N’Golo Kante, who put in a typically industrious performance, continuously regaining possession for his side and distributing the ball well to boot. “We were a bit laborious in the first 45 minutes because Albania were physically fresh”.
“Griezmann had a busy season, we have three games in nine days, and he played 60 minutes (against Romania)”, Deschamps said. “Things went well again for me tonight”. “We had to be patient”.
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Albania goalkeeper Etrit Berisha, center, watches as France’s Antoine Griezmann, left, scores the opening goal during the Euro 2016 Group A soccer match between France and Albania at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, France, Wednesday, June 15, 2016.
