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Today in Manchester-United-players-that-sound-like-characters-from-JRPGs news, France captain Hugo Lloris has informed ESPN that Paul Pogba is a "warrior in his mind". We're imagining the Warrior-in-his-Mind as some kind of specialised variation on the traditional monk, weak at first but devastating after a little grind, reliant on generating inner focus to chain together devastating combos.
Or, y'know, a midfielder. Lloris was speaking after France beat the Netherlands 1-0 in Amsterdam thanks to both a Pogba goal and an extremely decent Pogba performance. The Netherlands couldn't get near him all game, and his passing, short and long, kept France dangerous (even though their finishing wasn't particularly notable). Prior to the game the French press — journalists, not coffeepots — had questioned whether Manchester United's No. 6 was worthy of a place in Didier Deschamps' starting XI; afterwards, captain Lloris was asked if Pogba had been relaxed:
Yes, but he's a warrior in his mind. That's the most important thing. Of course he's very talented but in football talent is not enough, and in his mind he's very strong, and very ambitious, so he's going to improve step by step and he will arrive at the level that he wants. [...] I think today he showed the perfect response.
Which all sounds very encouraging, particularly since Pogba was playing as part of a deeper midfield two, rather like the position he's been occupying for United. More of this against Liverpool, please.
Paul Pogba's goal against the Netherlands. #MUFC
— red_kash (@kaykash07) October 11, 2016
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