Paul Pogba made quite a show of celebrating his goal in Bucharest. There was a rehearsed jive with Presnel Kimpembe, his teammate. There was an elaborate twirl of arms, in the style of an extrovert traffic policeman at a busy junction. Nobody could begrudge Pogba milking the moment: it had been a stunning goal.
The Manchester United midfielder has peppered Euro 2020 with many moments of inimitable brilliance. Against Switzerland on Tuesday night, he was entitled to believe he had settled a fabulous last-16 tie with his wonderful strike, capping a high-class surge of world-champion style to put France 3-1 up with 15 minutes left on the clock.
They had turned around a 1-0 half-time deficit. Various of their leaders could be applauded for solving a crisis. Didier Deschamps, the head coach, had corrected a flawed tactical plan, and by reverting to a back four from his initial 3-4-3, made France look incisive and urgent.
Hugo Lloris, the captain, saved a Swiss penalty. Karim Benzema, recalled last month by Deschamps to lead the forward line, showed the range of the skills that make him uniquely apt for that, his deft footwork and finish delivering the equaliser, his alertness and strong leap putting France in front. Pogba, creator-in-chief, added his superb goal.
But briskly and brutally, those France figureheads were brought back to earth. Deschamps’ more ordered France of the second half gave way to a careless version, substitute Kingsley Coman giving the ball away in the lead-up to an 81st minute Swiss goal. Pogba was dispossessed in the 90th minute, and Switzerland broke with purpose, equalising to usher in extra-time.
The greatest misfortune was left for the superstar, Kylian Mbappe, who missed a chance to win the tie and prevent a penalty shoot-out. And in that shoot-out, Mbappe's penalty, France's fifth, would be saved. Switzerland were through to the quarter-finals at that moment.
Mbappe felt crushed. “He is obviously very affected by it,” said Deschamps. “Nobody should be cross with him. He took the responsibility and he feels guilty. He shouldn’t.”
Deschamps knew the search for scapegoats was already under way and that it would dominate the next few days. France have fallen suddenly from Euro 2020’s pre-tournament favourites to toppled giants, outplayed and outthought by Switzerland for the first 45 minutes in Bucharest, and outfought by them in the closing stages of an epic, exhausting night.
Past pedigree makes it a stunning result. Switzerland last reached the quarter-finals of a major competition in 1954. France are the World Cup holders. They were finalists at the last European championship.
Deschamps is due, next summer, to mark 10 years in charge of a national team he had taken steadily upwards until Monday night and his contract covers the next World Cup, which is only 18 months away. That now looks less certain than it did 48 hours ago.
He acknowledged failings. “I am responsible when things turn out badly,” he said. “We have to find the right balance in the future. It will need some time to deal with this.”
The possibility that Deschamps could be replaced quickly has grown since Zinedine Zidane, a former France captain, left his coaching position at Real Madrid last month. Zidane is available, and the national team job is one he would be open to taking at some stage.
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Switzerland v France player ratings
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FRANCE RATINGS: Hugo Lloris 7 - A save at a vital stage in the game kept the deficit to a single goal as the Tottenham goalkeeper got a strong hand to Ricardo Rodriguez’s penalty. Couldn’t do much about the other goals. Got a hand to one of the penalties in the shootout but not enough to keep the ball out. Reuters -
Presnel Kimpembe 5 - Looked comfortable before being beaten far too easily by Gavranovic for the equaliser. Soft defending at times. Reuters -
Raphael Varane 6 - Was made to work hard at times but got a touch to a ball that was destined to be converted. The most assured of a messy French defence. AFP -
Clement Lenglet 5 - Didn’t challenge Haris Seferovic in the air for the opener. A crucial error to make in a big game - and replaced at half-time for Kingsley Coman. AFP -
Adrien Rabiot 6 - Came close with a scorching effort that drifted narrowly wide of the post in the 28th minute but it was strange to see Rabiot operate from the left wingback position on Monday night. AFP -
Paul Pogba 8 - Slowly came into the game and was more positive in the second half. Scored one of the goals of the tournament with a wonder-effort from range and made no mistake with his penalty. Reuters -
N’Golo Kante 7 - Tidied up in the middle of the park.as always. A typical Kante performance - but not enough on the night to get the win. AFP -
Benjamin Pavard 5 - A shocking challenge lacked any sort of care to concede a penalty and put the tie in a precarious position for France when 1-0 down. AFP -
Kylian Mbappe 6 - Challenged defenders every time he got on the ball and found Benzema for the equaliser but it just didn’t click in front of goal for Mbappe on Monday night The Paris Saint-Germain star was wasteful with his chances and that didn’t change when missing the crucial penalty in the shootout. Hard luck. AFP -
Karim Benzema 8 - Found good space in the box during the first half but couldn’t pull the trigger fast enough. An exquisite first touch and flick over the goalkeeper levelled the scoring for France just moments after Switzerland missed a penalty. The Real Madrid star then headed home to put France ahead. He will be wondering how his team didn’t win the game from that point. Reuters -
Antoine Griezmann 7 - The Barcelona and Real Madrid stars combined for France’s second goal as Griezmann chipped towards the back post to leave an easy finish for Karim Benzema. AFP -
SUB: Kingsley Coman (Lenglet 45) 6 - Almost won the game in the last second with a shot that smashed off the post. AFP -
SUB: Moussa Sissoko (Griezmann 88) N/R - On to help see the game out but soon saw Switzerland hit a sensational equaliser courtesy of Gavranovic. AFP -
Olivier Giroud (Benzema 94) N/R - Got up well in the last seconds of extra time but couldn’t direct his header past Sommer. AFP -
SUB: Marcus Thuram (Coman 111) N/R - The son of France legend Lilian Thuram came on for Kingsley Coman who looked to be carrying an injury. Took his penalty well, firing it into an unreachable corner of the goal past Sommer. AFP -
SWITZERLAND RATINGS: Yann Sommer 8 - A reaction save in extra time prevented Pavard’s effort. Not much he could do about very well-taken goals from France. The hero in the shootout. EPA -
Ricardo Rodriguez 6 - A missed penalty gave momentum to France who took full advantage of Rodriguez’s error. A rollercoaster of emotions for the defender who saw his side come back and clinch the game in dramatic fashion on penalties. AFP -
Manuel Akanji 7 - No nonsense from the Borussia Dortmund man. Akanji got rid of the ball when it got into dangerous areas and didn’t take chances against a dangerous French side. Took his penalty like a striker. EPA -
Nico Elvedi 6 - Looked scrappy at times with challenges but showed professionalism to remain cool after picking up a yellow card. Reuters -
Steven Zuber 8 - Defended strongly and was once again involved in the goal, picking up an assist with an accurate cross for the opener. EPA -
Granit Xhaka 9 - The Swiss captain was calm on the ball, and looked as though he had the ball on a string at times. An instrumental performance from Granit Xhaka in both attack and defence. The best player on the pitch who may have raised his stock on Monday night as Arsenal prepare for bids from Europe. Reuters -
Remo Freuler 7 - Worked hard amid a difficult midfield battle against Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante. EPA -
Silvan Widmer 6 - Made a number of tackles and worked hard against France’s dangerous threat in Mbappe. Almost headed the ball into his own goal in the second half. Reuters -
Xherdan Shaqiri 6 - Not as effective as he was in the last round against Turkey but Shaqiri tried to be the key to unlock the French defence. Made a number of good runs throughout the match and wasn’t always picked out by teammates. AFP -
Haris Seferovic 8 - A world-class header put Switzerland one goal up as the target man leapt above Lenglet and executed perfectly to beat Lloris. Headed his second of the game after finding space in the French box to begin Switzerland’s comeback. AFP -
Breel Embolo 7 - Positive runs saw the Borussia Monchengladbach man regularly challenge defenders. Could have shot when in space during the second half but was slow to react. AFP -
SUB: Mario Gavranovic (Shaqiri 73) N/R - On for Shaqiri and the Dinamo Zagreb made no mistake when his chance presented itself - beating Kimpembe before striking into the left corner in the 90th minute. Reuters -
SUB: Kevin Mbabu (Widmer 73) N/R - Provided energy on the flank and whipped a precise ball into Seferovic for Switzerland’s second goal. Enjoyed a battle with Coman on the flank which created an open spectacle. AFP -
SUB: Kevin Mbabu (Widmer 73) N/R - Provided energy on the flank and whipped a precise ball into Seferovic for Switzerland’s second goal. Enjoyed a battle with Coman on the flank which created an open spectacle. AFP -
SUB: Christian Fassnacht (Zuber 79) N/R - On for Zuber who had worked hard throughout the game. Rarely gave the ball away. EPA -
SUB: Ruben Vargas (Embolo 79) N/R - On for Embolo and delivered in the penalty shootout.. AFP -
SUB: Admir Mehmedi (Rodriguez 87) N/R - Lead the line but couldn’t find the goal with two shots. Scored Switzerland’s fifth penalty to heap pressure on Mbappe. Reuters
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Mbappe remains a centrepiece for Les Bleus’ future, but Euro 2020 has been as personally deflating for a player who aspires to winning Ballon D’Ors as the last World Cup was thrilling. He was 18 then, and scored in the victorious final, after looking unstoppable at times during the tournament.
At this championship, opponents have found the means to better contain his pace on the ball. He has not been entirely muted, but the contrast with Mbappe’s club season, when he scored 42 goals at a rate better than one every 90 minutes for Paris Saint-Germain and a Euro 2020 that he leaves after five-and-a-half hours on the pitch without a goal is stark.
In Bucharest, Mbappe was outperformed by Haris Seferovic, the Swiss centre-forward, whose two headed goals will act as an enduring rebuke to the long-running criticism at home that Seferovic is a one-dimensional striker, one who wastes many more chances than he converts. On a historic night for the Swiss, captain Granit Xhaka also excelled, not least in his duels against Pogba.
“What was fantastic was our willingness to fight,” said Vladimir Petkovic, the Switzerland head coach, whose substitutes played key roles in the comeback. “We imposed our gameplan and we had enough petrol left in the tank, perhaps more than France.”
The Swiss now refuel for a meeting with Spain. They may need a full tank. Spain have given clear notice that they are no longer easily contained, over 90 minutes or 120.
