France advance and as Group A winners. They have a clear path to the quarter-finals and a picture clouded by a dull game and an unconvincing campaign. They have progressed while remaining a work in progress.
A draw was forgettable but the draw has been favourable. France face the third-placed side in Group C, D or E next. Possible encounters with Northern Ireland or the Czech Republic should hold few fears, even if they were unable to overcome Switzerland.
Yet if there had been an element of fortune to France’s two previous wins, luck eluded them this time. Without excelling, they nonetheless hit the frame of the goal three times, but never the back of the net.
One mitigating factor was the weakened team Didier Deschamps named. The major benefit of his tinkering came with evidence that, while France have started one game without Paul Pogba, they should not begin another with him on the bench.
Harshly given a mere three out of 10 in L'Equipe's player ratings for his performance against Romania and demoted for the Albania game, Pogba played with the air of a man with a point to prove and the talent to make his case with great eloquence. He could have had a hugely impressive hat-trick within 20 minutes.
More from Euro 2016:
• Gallery: France top Euro 2016 Group A despite failing to break down Switzerland — in pictures
• Richard Jolly: Daniel Sturridge and Jamie Vardy should be rewarded for their England rescue
• Gallery: Armando Sadiku header against Romania gives Albania historic victory — in pictures
Perhaps France’s two-year programme of friendlies did not favour Pogba, whose displays in their warm-up matches drew criticism. His competitive juices seemed stirred by more meaningful encounters. Perhaps the key was a tactical shift. Pogba started on the left of the midfield trio, allowing him to surge infield and upfield, which he did with great verve.
He hit the bar in the 12th minute, even if Yann Sommer should have done better than to push a stinging shot up in the air. He drew a fine save with a fierce drive a minute later. The goalkeeper then stood motionless when a rasping effort rebounded off the woodwork.
This was the Pogba of repute, the footballer tipped to be the player of the tournament. He has an intoxicating blend of the technical and the physical, built like Patrick Vieira but possessing some of Zinedine Zidane’s gifts
There were elements of showboating — a perhaps needless Cruyff turn — but perhaps it was to reinforce that he is capable of such skills. A rather different indication of his power came when he grabbed Granit Xhaka’s shirt and it ripped; admittedly that was also an indictment of the manufacturers of the Swiss kit.
Pogba seized the opportunity on an evening when a full-strength defence had a sprinkling of understudies ahead of them. Deschamps is yet to alight on his best team but two who appear to figure in it, N’Golo Kante and Olivier Giroud, both on a yellow card, were rested. Dimitri Payet suddenly assumes such significance that he was spared the first hour’s action. He entered to a rousing reception. Fringe figure has become talisman.
A specialist in the spectacular and a master of late goals almost delivered another. Moussa Sissoko performed a Pogba impression with a barnstorming run and cross. Payet’s volley seemed perfectly struck but it rebounded off the underside of the bar. For the third time, Switzerland had a narrow escape.
They defended with organisation and expertise but were a negligible factor in attack. The striker Haris Seferovic, who mars excellent movement with profligate finishing, was dropped. Switzerland were no more prolific in his absence.
Hugo Lloris marked his 54th game as France captain, taking a record that had belonged to Deschamps, with the most comfortable of clean sheets. Switzerland have finished second in the pool and reached the knockout stages of a European Championship for the first time, but while they claimed an injury-time penalty for Bacary Sagna’s tug on Blerim Dzemaili, they have done so while scoring just twice. They will face the runner-up in Group B, potentially Poland, next. They will surely have to display more in attack if they are to go any further.
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