Manchester United stars Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane both gave speeches to Les Bleus en-route to their Nations League final win on Sunday.
With another piece of silverware on the line, France had to dig deep in what proved to be a really intense encounter against Spain over the weekend. It’s been well documented that the world champions didn’t have the most impressive showing at Euro 2020 but when given the chance to prove themselves in another big match just months later, they didn’t disappoint with a comeback win that showcases why the Nations League can be such an important competition for the morale of a national team.
The rallying cry France needed
Paul Pogba has been known to give speeches in the past both for club and country but Raphael Varane hasn’t been pinpointed as a big talker by many fans during his career. At half-time, with the score locked at 0-0, he came out of his shell in a big way with both himself and Pogba speaking to the rest of the team in an effort to get them up for the second half.
? – Pogba:
— UtdXclusive ? (@UtdXclusive) October 11, 2021
“We have to be aggressive! It starts from the front all the way to the back we win the ball back &we attack! And yes we’re going to run a lot cuz they have quality players but so do we. We have to keep the ball & hurt them. 2nd half we have to be aggressive.” #mufc https://t.co/FC8o6WClbi
The taste of victory!! ? ??❤️ ?????????!!! @equipedefrance #FiersdetreBleus #allezlesbleus pic.twitter.com/HZSV0LZBtE
— Paul Pogba (@paulpogba) October 10, 2021
This side of Raphael Varane that many Man Utd fans haven't seen before. ?
— UtdFaithfuls (@UtdFaithfuls) October 12, 2021
Ronaldo, Pogba, Varane, Cavani, Maguire, Bruno Fernandes, etc.. #mufc have several leaders in the dressing room.pic.twitter.com/oKW61Yp28u
Varane was relatively solid at the back before being taken off whereas Pogba not only had the most touches of any France player with 77, but also made three successful tackles in a high quality showing in the middle of the park.
The win gives France some much-needed momentum that they’ll hope to utilise when they host Kazakhstan tomorrow night. Beyond the international break, though, both Pogba and Varane will aim to transfer some of these skills into what looks set to be a tough few weeks of fixtures for Manchester United in the Premier League.
Featured image credit: Getty