POGBA AND GRIEZMANN FACE AXE

THEY are the two players upon whom the hopes of the host nation rested entering Euro 2016. But one game in and all of the talk here in France is that coach Didier Deschamps is ready to risk his popularity by dropping Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann. Les Bleus face Albania in Marseille this evening and, while Deschamps may dress up any team changes as affording certain players a rest against the Group A outsiders, impressive displays from their replacements would leave him in a tricky position. Manchester United forward Anthony Martial and Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman are the pair tipped for starting spots and, motivated by the chance to retain their jersey, it would be no surprise to see them put on a show at the Stade Velodrome. Indeed, debate has raged here in France after Griezmann’s ineffective display during Friday’s 2-1 win over Romania. Influential newspaper L’Equipe has suggested that the Atletico Madrid forward — scorer of 33 goals this season and the new poster boy of French football — will be axed along with Juventus schemer Pogba, who was also substituted in the opening game. And Deschamps, who remained tight-lipped on team selection, said: ‘Paul can do better obviously but I’m not disappointed in his performance. I don’t want to be too hard on him. ‘The media are expecting too much from him. He has outstanding technical abilities but he’s also a player who does a lot of hard work, who wants to do well, maybe too well.’ One player certain to start is West Ham’s Dimitri Payet, scorer of that stunning late winner against the Romanians. It is his emergence which has added to the pressure on Griezmann, who was so out of sorts in the opener that he lasted just 66 minutes before being replaced by Coman. And when asked about Payet’s influence, Deschamps said: ‘It’s very important to have Payet in this kind of form. He’s vital for us. ‘Payet has always been decisive, now he is doing it on the international stage.’ Payet’s 89th-minute strike masked what was an otherwise stuttering start from the tournament favourites. But midfielder Blaise Matuidi says the squad still have their targets trained firmly on the final. ‘There will be no easy matches but we’re more relaxed now and determined to go all the way,’ said the Paris Saint-Germain man. ‘We must be better than against Romania. We did not play the game we wanted to play but it was due to the context, it was the opening match. There is no problem. We must be able to take risks, to show personality. It will be better against Albania, I’m not worried at all.’ Rather, it is Pogba and Griezmann doing the worrying.