The RTÉ football panel was unanimous in its praise for Paul Pogba in France’s 1-0 victory over Belgium in the World Cup semi-final, with Richie Sadlier describing it as a "complete performance".
Didier Deschamps' side booked their place in Sunday’s final against either England or Croatia, with centre-half Samuel Umtiti scoring the only goal of the game six minutes after the interval.
Eamon Dunphy, who had been critical of his performances for large parts of the tournament to date, was very impressed by what he saw of the Manchester United star.
"He’s worked hard. When he’s used the ball, he used it well and picked out some nice passes. He was simple but effective," he told viewers.
"All round he made a bigger contribution in this game."
The panel were impressed with the performance of Paul Pogba in the France side in both defence and attack.https://t.co/UmyVzi9FF5 pic.twitter.com/FrAaITDz5a
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) July 10, 2018
Pogba cleared a number of Belgian crosses away inside his own box as Roberto Martinez's side pushed for an equaliser and it was his defensive work which really shone through in a cagey encounter.
"It was his most impressive performance of the tournament," Sadlier insisted. "One of the things that caught my eye was how disciplined when was in tracking back Marouane Fellaini.
"Tonight it was a complete performance."
"He was like a defender at the back," Liam Brady agreed. "He did his job for the team. There was no showboating from him."
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Brady also praised French manager Deschamps for getting the best out of the former Juventus man. While Jose Mourinho dropped the midfielder on a number of occasions at club level last season, he has grown into his role for Les Bleus.
"If you ask any of the French players who played in 1998, they say he was an inspirational captain and he’s an inspirational coach," he said. "If he can get Pogba to play in that disciplined fashion, all credit to him."
"It doesn’t mean there has been a great transformation before our eyes, but what it does mean is when he comes into the game, offensively or defensively, he makes a worthwhile contribution"
Dunphy admitted that the 25-year-old has turned around his level of performance in Russia, it remains to be seen if he can transfer his World Cup form into the Premier League.
"It doesn’t mean there has been a great transformation before our eyes, but what it does mean is when he comes into the game, offensively or defensively, he makes a worthwhile contribution," he said.
"Frankly, I said on one of these programmes early on, ‘I don’t believe Paul Pogba can get a World Cup winners’ medal’.
"The point is, you should be able to say this guy did really well and fair play to him. This is a World Cup semi-final. Now we will see what happens him when he goes back to Manchester United in the Premier League.
"Can he find a role there that allows him to fulfil the talent he has?"
