Amsterdam : A searing first-half strike from Paul Pogba handed France a 1-0 win at rivals the Netherlands as Belgium and Portugal clocked up 6-0 victories and Christian Benteke grabbed a slice of World Cup qualifying history.
Criticised by coach Didier Deschamps for his performance in Friday’s 4-1 win over Bulgaria in Paris, the world’s most expensive footballer emphatically replied with a towering display for Les Bleus in Amsterdam in the most eye-catching fixture on Monday. The Manchester United midfielder’s powerful hit from 25 metres out after half an hour left diving Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg able to get his hands to the fizzing ball but unable to stop it.
“I didn’t speak to him (Pogba), I just said a few words to him before entering the changing rooms, ‘I have confidence in you,'” said Deschamps. “The match confirms what he is able to do. Pogba was much better in everything he did. He showed what he can do. “We never doubted he could do it. We mustn’t forget Paul is relatively young and he can still progress.”
France, losing finalists on home soil at Euro 2016, are equal on seven points at the top of Group A with Sweden, who beat Bulgaria 3-0 at home in Solna. The two countries will play on November 11 at the Stade de France.
Pogba, 23, was imperial in front of a central defence made up of Raphael Varane and Laurent Koscielny, who pushed back wave after wave of Dutch attacks. And Pogba nearly doubled his account with a header off a Dimitri Payet corner on 66 minutes just lacking power.
Fastest goal
Christian Benteke set a new World Cup record for the fastest goal in the competition, including the finals, in Belgium’s qualifier against Gibraltar here. The 25-year-old Crystal Palace striker, who was to bag a hat-trick, picked up the ball to score after just seven seconds in the first action of the Group H qualifier on Monday with the Gibraltar defence in disarray, leaving goalie Deren Ibrahim with no chance, reports Xinhua.
Benteke’s quick-fire goal eclipsed the previous best of 8.3 seconds achieved by San Marino’s Davide Gualtieri in a World Cup qualifier against England in November 1993.
The record for the fastest goal in a World Cup finals match is 10.8 seconds by Turkey’s Hakan Sukur against South Korea in 2002.
