Instead, Pogba raised his game, and Deschamps changed the way he played. He found the balance and showed he can play in that midfield role. This "was more in line with what he is capable of," as Deschamps said afterward.
Even if the Dutch also were generally callow, that is not something you can say about Kevin Strootmann. The Roma midfielder has recently been finding his feet again on the recovery from so many injury problems, but he lost almost every battle against Pogba. The United midfielder schooled him in so many faceoffs, easily holding him off with physicality and then embarrassing him with finesse. From there, Pogba played a series of sumptuous balls that set the tempo for this match.
There were three long-range passes throughout the game that were especially luscious, but one stood out above the rest. On 57 minutes, Pogba played a glorious ball over the top to put Kevin Gameiro through one-on-one with Stekelenburg, in a move that was someway reminiscent of Frank De Boer's pass to Dennis Bergkamp in the 1998 World Cup quarterfinal. Gameiro similarly tried to take the ball down on his toe but just couldn't get it under control, denying Pogba -- and the game -- a moment that would have been even more pleasing than the winning goal.
It was that good -- the perfect showcase of his exceptional passing talent. The key to this game, though, was that it was finally a showcase of Pogba's talent in a central two. Before the match, one source close to the French camp had argued Pogba had not yet shown his best for his country, but the issue was that there always seemed to be an excuse made for him. First it was his age, then it was his club situation, then it was the transfer price, then it was the position. An argument had been growing outside the camp that there might just be something missing from his game, that he might not be capable of the type of display everyone expected.
Just when he seemed to be running out of excuses, though, Pogba excelled.
It wasn't all "blah, blah, blah," as he might have said himself in the summer.
It was a display of substance -- and significance. It should not just be a response. It should now be his reference point.