Antoine Griezmann scored France’s two goals in their midweek victory over Finland. Paul Pogba pulled the strings, with a staggering 142 touches.
The man who has been getting the credit in France for the win is Pogba’s new Manchester United teammate Raphael Varane.
The French team released footage from behind the scenes before and after the victory, which was France’s first win in six international matches.
Varane was credited with an inspiring pre-game speech to his teammates in the dressing room, a picture of which is seen below.
France’s leader
Back in the side after being rested away at Ukraine, Varane was key as France kept a clean sheet.
RMC Sport described Varane as ‘a leader of men’, remarking that he is taking a more active role in the dressing room.
He was quoted: “We give everything, it’s now, it’s now! 90 minutes! We don’t talk about it at halftime, the state of mind is now guys! Win, win, come on!”
At half-time and the score 1-0, Varane was seen telling his teammates, to stay ‘focused until the end’.
Foot-National report Varane and manager Didier Deschamps’ speeches were ‘invaluable’ to setting the tone and inspiring their teammates to get back to winning ways in front of a home crowd. France went on to win the game 2-0.
Manchester United need him
Varane typifies the type of leadership Manchester United need. This is a side which has faltered too often at key points.
During his career, Varane has been there and done it, winning every available trophy. He has never lost a final he has played, remarkably.
With all he has achieved, Varane commands huge respect from his teammates and when he talks, they will listen.
Even though he has only played one game for United so far, he proved his quality in the 90 minutes at Molineux, and we can’t wait to see more.
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