Euro 2016: 5 mistakes that cost France the final

Lack of Pogba‘s influence

Pogba was not at all influential in the match

Hailed as the best midfielder in the world by many, it was widely expected that Paul Pogba would run the show for France from the midfield. But, instead it was a below par performance from the Juventus man. With Ronaldo off the field, it presented Pogba with the opportunity to move higher up the pitch and help his teammates in attack.

But, for some strange reason Pogba wasn’t pressing high enough or creating any clear cut chances. Even, Deschamps didn’t encourage his star midfielder to move up the pitch and ramp up the pressure on the Portuguese defense.

With Pogba reluctant to venture forward, the French lacked the magic that could unlock a tight Portuguese defense, looked short on ideas to create clear cut goal scoring opportunities.