France 3-3 Switzerland (4-5 on penalties): 5 talking points as world champions crash out | UEFA Euro 2020

#3 Karim Benzema's heroics not enough for underwhelming France

Karim Benzema scored a brace for France

Karim Benzema ended his six-year absence from the international scene when he was named in France's Euro 2020 squad.

The Real Madrid man has been the most in-form French striker over the last few years. But he was frozen out by Didier Deschamps due to off-field issues.

Having earned a recall, the 33-year-old struggled to get going initially. He even missed a penalty against Wales, his first game for France in six years.

However, Benzema's quality came through with a brace in the thrilling 2-2 draw with Portugal. Incredibly, those were his first goals in the European Championship.

He continued from where he left off with a quickfire brace against Switzerland to put France ahead and seemingly on their way to the last eight.

However, Karim Benzema's superb output was not enough to power his side to victory. France meekly surrendered their two-goal advantage to disappointingly crash out of the tournament.

Benzema's night also ended on a sour note when he was substituted just four minutes into extra-time after seemingly suffering a muscle injury.

#2 Paul Pogba's form for France continues to belie his performances for Manchester United

Pogba gave another star turn for France

Paul Pogba gave another immaculate display in the middle of the park for France. He even crowned his performance with a contender for goal of the tournament.

Before scoring the worldie, the former Juventus man had been the mastermind behind France's domination midway through the second half. His vision was on full display on several occasions.

Pogba constantly sliced open the Swiss defense with pristine through balls. He could have ended the night with a couple of assists if not for some poor finishing.

In many ways, this is the player Manchester United broke the bank to sign in 2016. One of the most enigmatic questions in recent years has been why the 28-year-old is a different player in the colors of France.

Several reasons have been given as to why this is the case. But after another underwhelming club campaign, Pogba has again reminded everybody of his immense abilities on the international scene.

There was, however, another aspect of his game that was in full glare, which is his tendency to overplay with the ball in dangerous positions. This proved to be the case when Pogba's pocket was picked near the halfway line in the lead-up to Switzerland's third goal.

Despite the major blip, it cannot be argued that Paul Pogba was one of just a few French players to emerge from Euro 2020 with any credit. This begs a serious question as to why he cannot replicate this form with Manchester United.

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#1 Kylian Mbappe caps off underwhelming tournament with crucial penalty miss

Kylian Mbappe had a tournament to forget with France

Kylian Mbappe is widely regarded as football's torchbearer to lead the next generation after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi depart the scene.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward has done justice to this moniker with his displays over the last few years. But he will not look back on Euro 2020 with any fondness.

Mbappe was one of several players representing France that failed to perform at the level expected in the tournament.

The 22-year-old, who completed every second of France's ultimately unsuccessful tournament, failed to find the back of the net across four games.

It was not for a lack of chances and several presentable opportunities fell to the former Monaco man, especially in the game against Switzerland.

A surprisingly profligate Mbappe failed to take any of them. In many ways, his penalty miss in the shootout was a thorough reflection of the poor tournament he had.

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