Didier Deschamps (France coach): “In terms of our plans it was very, very important to finish first in the group”.
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Switzerland began to find joy behind French full-backs Bacary Sagna and Patrice Evra in the second half, but the chances continued to fall to France.
“At the start of the game I was playing higher up and we did very well”, Pogba said, alluding to his preference to play in a more attacking role than usually afforded him by Deschamps. “I know what he’s capable of, he always does it for us”.
The result means France will play one of the third-placed sides from Group C, D or E, while Switzerland will play the runner-up of Group C, which includes Germany, Poland and Northern Ireland. But we need Paul Pogba at a top level. “We have a long week ahead of us and that will give us time to prepare”.
The Baggies will nearly definitely have sent scouts to Lille last night to watch Sissoko’s first start at Euro 2016 with host nation France. “We didn’t get many chances, we played with our head, with mental strength”.
Albania’s Euro 2016 could continue into the knock-out phase after the debutants ended their scoring drought to eliminate Romania with a 1-0 victory in Lyon yesterday.
Both France and Switzerland had been forced to train away from Stade Pierre-Mauroy in the build-up to Monday’s game due to the wear and tear of the turf, brought on by torrential rain both before and during the competition. He saw an early shot saved by Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer and then smashed an effort from 25 yards onto the bar and over.
France might have threated to score in the first half, but their tempo did drop in the second 45 minutes, resulting in a goalless draw.
Teenage striker Breel Embolo also slightly tore the back of his in the first half.
“I’m glad I didn’t play much on Lille’s pitch, because it was in bad shape”, said Payet, who came on midway through the second half.
Andre-Pierre Gignac shot straight at Sommer, while Pogba excelled again by holding off four opponents and finding Antoine Griezmann, who played a one-two with Gignac before seeing a right-foot shot tipped over by Sommer.
In-form Payet, a former Lille player, had been brought on with 27 minutes left as France chased the opener and the West Ham man nearly grabbed it.
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Moussa Sissoko produced a turbo-charged run down the right and Payet met his ideal cross on the volley but his effort crashed back off the bar.
