Once the initial lethargy in the match against Argentina wore off and the trio of Matuidi, Kante and Pogba were fully charged, Argentina had a tough time getting the ball to the final third. In fact, Pogba was on song from the get-go and the psychic reboot of this World Cup finally seems to be bringing the best out of him.
Pogba kept splitting Argentina’s backline with his incisive passing and often released his attackers past their markers with that characteristic flair of his.
He was also making marauding runs through the centre, one of which ended up in Giroud being played in on the left side of the box with an eye-catching outside of the boot pass. The striker missed but the quality in France’s midfield shone right through.
Matuidi stayed close to Messi and kept him as silent as he could and Kante’s sweeping powers enabled Pogba’s enterprise.