Paul Pogba, Attorney General of France

There was no party in the French dressing room after the victory over Germany in Munich. With the opening day of group F closed with a 0-1, the first thing Didier Deschamps did on Wednesday morning was to summon the players to deliver a speech more typical of a president before his cabinet than of a coach before his footballers. Worried about the signs of indifference that he perceived in the staff, Deschamps demanded commitment, effort, loyalty, generosity, camaraderie. On and off the field. The message was clear to all. If the group was not capable of projecting an idea of ​​union, there would be no tactics or technical virtuosity that would be worth to avoid the collapse of the most powerful team of the European in the difficult journey ahead, starting with the duel against Hungary in Budapest. this Saturday (15.00, Four).

Paul Pogba seconded the coach. Deschamps, who thinks like a statesman, succeeds in employing him to go where he cannot or dare not. The United star had just validated the power he wields in the dressing room with a huge game against Germany. At the unique level of physical suffering that Pogba, Kanté and Rabiot, the three interiors, are capable of achieving, he was the only one who managed to add a handful of pearls of singular quality. Overcoming the lack of oxygen, exhausted after endless efforts to regain possession, Pogba was able not only to steal more balls than anyone else (14) but also made lucid decisions with uncommon technical finesse on most of the plays that they unbalanced Germany. His three dribbles,his three fouls received and the two passes with which he left Mbappé alone in front of Neuer's goal made him the most productive player in the offensive phase. Above Mbappé, Griezmann and Benzema.

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"Paul has a great determination and knows how to transmit it to the group," said Varane, after the debut.

“He knows how to make himself respected and listened to.

He provides an atmosphere of his own to the team and, as he is a complete player, he brings that leadership to the field ”.

MVP of the game against Germany, the 28-year-old midfielder has consolidated his leadership authority at a time when France needs, more than ever, a moral helmsman. According to federation sources, Benzema's entry has unleashed such a deep hierarchical movement that there are many disgruntled players. Rumored in the corners or through body language, which is usually the most expressive in football teams, men like Coman, Giroud, Tolisso or Dembélé, world champions in 2018, do nothing but express their detachment in the face of the disappointment of feeling displaced by Benzema. Deschamps saw substitutes so bad on Tuesday against Germany that he preferred to put his starters to terrible wear and tear rather than entrust the 0-1 defense to the guys around him on the bench. Being able to make five changes,The coach only replaced Benzema with Tolisso in minute 89 and Rabiot by Dembélé in 95.

"Release"

Pogba was asked about the secret of his “liberation” and his answer was that of a proselytizer: “It is not me, it is the group that has made me feel liberated on the field.

Let's not forget that N'Golo [Kanté], Adrien [Rabiot] and Antoine [Griezmann] have been by my side.

And behind the line of four has been very solid and has given us all confidence ”.

That he left Benzema and Mbappé off the list - the least supportive footballers in defensive efforts - was no accident. They say in the federative environment that Pogba likes to give confidence to the "weakest" in the dressing room. Protected by his friendship with Griezmann, Varane and Kimpembe, his leadership drags the majority, who are not exactly the most famous. And most of France's players agree with Deschamps that everyone must make the same sacrifices, whatever their pedigree.

A prosecutor of the

egalité

of France, Pogba has a reputation as a radical vigilante.

He comes from suffering three years of despondency in Manchester, where he has been trapped in a project without a horizon.

There, the net 18 million euros that he charges every year does not stimulate him as much as the possibility of winning a great trophy, something that, today, only France offers him.

The scent of success has restored him to his status as a total footballer just as it has honed his instinct to detect those who conspire against the unity of the group.

Benzema and Mbappé are warned.

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