Switzerland held France to a goalless draw.
Having won their first two, Le Bleus were the first team to play their third game.
Turned out to be a dismal match on a slippy pitch.
Deschamps made changes, as expected, bringing big Sissoko of Newcastle into midfield.
Sissoko did something wonderful in 75 and something dim in 88.
He zoomed 70 yards downfield and cut the ball back beautifully for sub Dimitri Payet, who hit the underside with a sidefoot volley. Or what looked like a sidefoot volley : the replay showed Payet shinned it.
If France had been winning 2-0. He’d have sidefooted for 3-0.
But when France were awarded a free-kick outside the box for handball, Payet took an excellent free-kick that was going in when it hit Sissoko, who should have been much more alert.
If Payet’s shot had not hit Sissoko, while he was looking the other way, it would have been 1-0.
Best comment on the BBC was Thierry Henry on Pogba.
Henry said that Matuidi is a left-footed player, so the manager plays Matuidi on the left of a 4-3-3 midfield, with Pogba on the right, where he’s not so effective or dynamic.
I totally agree with that.
Pogba is inventive in unconventional ways, and can use his colossal athleticism better in a left-central role.On the right, he’s tends to be a component. On the left, more often a gladiator.
Story of the game: a team with six points plays its third game and it’s a 0-0 draw.
Switzerland deserved their point and would have won a penalty in 92 had the ref spotted a very crafty shirt-pull by Sagna.
Shearer said, “Switzerland were resilient.”
Looked as if the Swiss shirts had been manufactured to rip every time there was a shirt-pull.
Was this the case? Did Switzerland wear the same shirt fabric in their other two games?
Shirt-pulling annoys me so intensely that I’ve often thought they should wear paper shirts designed to rip and show the referee fouls he is unable to see.