Euro 2016: France Benched Paul Pogba, Antoine Griezmann For Albania
By Ty Duffy
#FRA XI vs. #ALB: Lloris (c) - Sagna, Rami, Koscielny, Evra - Kante, Matuidi - Coman, Payet, Martial - Giroud. #FRAALB
— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) June 15, 2016
Didier Deschamps released France’s starting XI for the second Euro 2016 group match vs. Albania. Two notable absences: Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann.
Don’t read too much into this. Albania is the weakest of France’s group opponents. This seems like a rational opportunity to rest a few players and rotate a deep squad.
Neither Pogba nor Griezmann gave impressive showings in the first match vs. Romania. The former looked out of focus. The latter drifted inside too often and overlapped with Olivier Giroud. But, we suspect Deschamps did not see enough in 90 minutes to warrant benching his two highest profile stars.
Pogba is one of the world’s most talented players. Griezmann is fresh off a 32-goal season for Atletico Madrid, and was a popular bet for top scorer in the tournament. Expect both to be in the Starting XI for the third match against Switzerland.