France vs Belgium: Paul Pogba continues string of impressive World Cup performances away from the spotlight

Away from the spotlight Pogba is quietly putting together a string of impressive performances for France at the 2018 World Cup

Take yourself out of Russia for one moment and cast your mind back to Saturday 7 April. Manchester City are hosting Manchester United in a derby which could wrap up the title for Pep Guardiola’s side in the sweetest way possible for the fans packed inside the Etihad.

It was Paul Pogba who dominated all of the pre-match build-up. Guardiola mischievously said City were offered to sign Pogba, with the Frenchman then choosing to arrive at the stadium with blue hair. Jose Mourinho’s side were poor in the first half and found themselves two down at the break. Enter Pogba, who took all the plaudits by scoring two good goals to claw United back into the game which set up Chris Smalling to complete an emphatic comeback.

A week later and United lost 1-0 to West Brom at Old Trafford. Pogba was cautioned in the first half and brought off after an hour. So are his good games anomalies? Perhaps, but if you look at the string of consistently good performances he is putting together for France, it is easy to discover that he is far more than the erratic performer at United.

Playing alongside N’Golo Kante and Blaisé Matuidi gives him significantly more creative licence, but it’s Pogba’s relationship with Kylian Mbappe which has allowed him to play at his best in Russia. Ten minutes into the semi-final against Belgium, Pogba won the ball back in midfield, picked his head up and found Mbappe with a lofted pass that reduced the defenders to spectators. Shortly after he did the same, but his through pass was collected by Thibuat Courtois before Mbappe could get the ball. Mbappe sent a thumbs up, he knew he was getting excellent service.

At Old Trafford Pogba shared a midfield with Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial and Alexis Sanchez for the majority of the season. Often when he received the ball, 75,000 fans and nine outfield players in red would stare back at him expectantly. Not through lack of talent, but through the weight of expectation Pogba is often perceived to be a fraction of the player he is portrayed in his highlight reels.

The responsibility to win games is all his at United, but with France he is accompanied by Antoine Griezmann, Kante and Mbappe who play to Pogba’s many strengths in creative moves.

Paul Pogba put in an impressive display against Belgium (EPA)

What also goes in Pogba’s favour is that he is not made the scapegoat by United’s utterly dreadful football. In a team which appears so completely devoured of attacking intent, it is easy to look at the guy with the flash hair, colourful boots and the one that tried a back heel, and say ‘well he was crap.’

The French team has a greater appreciation of what he is good at. If he is not scoring then he’s contributing with defensive headers, tackles, passes, marking – everything he does for United but seemingly better.

“We talk about him as being a bit lazy, but tonight he’s been second to none,” said Danny Murphy on BBC Sport commentary duty and unwillingly summing up the precise way that he appears better with France. Yes he was disciplined and marshalled Marouane Fellaini very well, but it only comes across the case when he’s draped in a his national shirt.

Against Belgium Pogba’s performance was good, not exceptional and not dreadful, which is fine. If Pogba performed the way he did tonight but in a Manchester United shirt, the umpteenth inquest would begin about his time at Old Trafford. Instead, he’s on his way to a World Cup final where he will quite possibly be the one who can win France’s second tournament, whether it’s down to a stunning solo performance or another disciplined showing.