However, after watching France struggle in the first period, Deschamps brought Pogba on at half-time and the 23-year-old provided the assist for Payet to score another late goal, this time to seal a 2-0 win after Antoine Griezmann’s 90th minute header.
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Pogba has been accused of using the “bras d’honneur” or “umbrella gesture” in response to criticism from journalists, a claim which the midfielder has denied.
France began their bid for a third European Championship title – following triumphs in 1984 and 2000 – with a nervous 2-1 win over Romania last Friday.
After beating Romania 2-1 and Albania 2-0, France topped Group A with six points, followed by Switzerland with four points, Romania one and Albania none.
“I know he (Griezmann) is not happy, nor is Paul Pogba”, Deschamps told uefa.com on Wednesday.
Deschamps took the bold decision to leave the pair out with Kingsley Coman and Anthony Martial starting instead in a 4-2-3-1 formation. “If I don’t like the way someone’s playing, I’ll change him”. Germany’s failure to beat Poland in their last match means only one goal divides them in the race to top the group.
Though forwards like Haris Seferovic and Xherdan Shaqiri have had chances in open play, both of Switzerland’s goals so far at Euro 2016 have come from corners kicks, in a 1-0 win against Albania and a 1-1 draw with Romania. “The subs made the difference tonight and we were able to come up with the goods”. “I’ll make choices as in the first two matches”.
Switzerland were quick to seize on the Pogba controversy, the Swiss federation writing on Twitter: “Hey France, Pogba’s not your problem”.
Albania, desperate to make their mark in their first major tournament after an early red card scuppered their chances in their opening game against Switzerland, defended with gusto and nearly went ahead early in the second half when French full back Bacary Sagna bundled the ball against his own post.
But Petkovic has not given up on first place.
“The key to our success is that we haven’t been used to conceding goals”, Albania goalkeeper Etrit Berisha said.
“It’s not just down to us”.
Payet, 29, who plays for West Ham United, said, “Once again I made the difference”.
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“France has a lot of individual quality and plays well as a team, ” Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka said. “A lot of people doubted that but once again we showed it. It’s the most handsome way to demonstrate it this evening”.
