Paul Pogba scores on laser from long range for France vs. Netherlands
- by Grant Boone
- in Sports
- — Oct 11, 2016
It was his first goal for France in five games, with his last coming in the Euro 2016 quarterfinals against Iceland.
A stunning long-range strike from Paul Pogba proved enough for France to secure a 1-0 victory over Netherlands in a crucial World Cup qualifier in Amsterdam.
Paul Pogba was back to his best for France in the win against Holland.
France forward Antoine Griezmann was happy for Paul Pogba after the midfielder's match-winning goal against Netherlands.
Vasileios Torosidis opened the scoring after just two minutes with a header from Petros Mantalos' corner.
Even though the French looked so much better than the Dutch, they didn't actually play that well and, at times, nearly seemed to be operating at friendly pace.
The tone of the night was set inside 10 minutes, with Kevin Gameiro drawing an acrobatic save from goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.
Beyond that, though, France - and Pogba - had too much control.
Memphis arrived at the club with high expectations after being named as the Best Young Player in the world in 2015 by France Football but after failing to adapt to life in England, he has quickly dropped down the pecking order at Old Trafford. Although they won, those traits were seen again on Monday.
Holland, France and Sweden each have four points, but on goals for, Holland is in the lead and now in first place.
The Dutch remain on four points after suffering their first defeat in a qualifier since 2001 as their 34-game unbeaten streak in the competition came to an end.
Pogba nearly created a second for France when his ball over the top found Kevin Gameiro, who brought it down superbly but was unable to beat the onrushing Stekelenburg with Antoine Griezmann skying the rebound.
Deschamps's formation, though, did work. "And he has to take on a record transfer to Manchester United", he said.
Vincent Janssen had a frustrating evening for Netherlands.
Danny Blind's home side huffed and puffed yet rarely threatened an equaliser, meaning they have still not beaten France on their own turf since March 1981. "He can show it in a big game tomorrow [Monday]".
Vasileios Torosidis took just two minutes to put the visitors ahead before Konstantinos Stafylidis' free-kick sealed the points just after the hour mark. Pogba and Moussa Sissoko were so easily able to hold off Kevin Strootman and Daley Blind.
Their best opportunities were hardly clear-cut. They have promise but still need to make a lot of progress if they are reach Russian Federation in two years' time. I'm not sure they are Champions League material.
