Waiting on France to sparkle

The moment Paul Pogba emerged from the dressing room to face journalists at the Mixed Zone, the first question fired at him was, ‘when are we to see the true France?’

With a bounce and swagger, the Manchester United midfielder zoomed past outstretched microphones and cellphones only muttering the words, “We shall see. We are into the second round.”

France had just played out a dour and dull 0-0 draw with Denmark, a result that guaranteed them top spot in Group C and a date with Argentina in Kazan tomorrow.

Before the World Cup got underway, Denmark coach Age Hareide said of the Didier Deschamps’ team: “France are nothing special. I don’t believe in this team.”

Hareide’s assertions may have a ring of truth as the Les Bleus have failed to sparkle, but did manage to get to next round with an unconvincing victories, 2-1 over Australia and 1-0 over Peru before the draw against Denmark.

And tomorrow, France face Argentina – a team also in dire need of redemption after a chastening group stage showing.

Only the indefatigable Chelsea midfield enforcer N’Golo Kante has been open to scrutiny by the media – perhaps knowing there is nothing to mask in their pursuit of World Cup glory.

“We have played against tough teams eager to make life difficult for us and that is why we have not opened up ourselves. This has made it impossible for us to score many goals,” Kante told Standard Sports in Moscow.

France has been grappling with scoring issues, a frustration coach Deschamps hinted at before their clash with Peru, which they won 1-0.

Deschamps has at his disposal Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud and Ousmane Dembele, all players of repute yet they are not firing in all cylinders.

It is a conundrum that not even Lionel Messi’s assessment would not wash away.

“They (France) have very fast players who can make a difference. They also have (Barcelona) team-mates that I know well,” Messi said as he sat out yesterday’s training.

But Deschamps worry seems to be near the truth. He said: “We have good players but one problem I have is the problem with Oliver, he plays alone.”

“He isn’t the same as others but when he’s not there, we realise how useful he is,” Deschamps said.

The coach’s dilemma is understandable given the standing of Giroud in the France national team set up at the moment.

The Chelsea forward prefers to play as a target man and his return of 31 goals in 77 outings cannot be ignored. Football purists, however, are still waiting for that spark here in Moscow.