World Cup: Would you rate Pogba's WC better than Modric?

canuckking1

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I saw this come up in the comment section on youtube. The debate was that Pogba had great matches in Midfield against elite opposition for the whole Knockout stages. They also noted how Pogba caught Modric sleeping on the WC winning goal. Meanwhile most of Modric's domination came against smaller nations like Russia,Sweden and an overrated English team. Thoughts on this?
 

canuckking1

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Dumb take.

I agree but the point about competition faced does hold water. For me, the only midfielder that could challenge modric as best in the tournament would be Kante. Shame he had a poor finals. Seems like that yellow card was always on the edge of his mind.
 

Moncherry

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Feb 5, 2010
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Oy, see how bad Kanté looked today against world class midifielders with footballing IQ?

That little man will commit carrer suicide if he ever leaves the Premiership.

Right, because Kante has never faced world class opposition before, including in this very tournament?

Don't know what dense point you're trying to make about the Premiership either.
 

Savi

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Dec 3, 2006
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I'd rate Pogba's WC as I would Kevin De Bruyne's. There were moments of class but as a whole it left me wanting to see more from both.

I also don't think Modric was that good btw.. Not disputing him winning the Golden Boot but this wasn't Xavi 2008 or Iniesta 2010 level imo.
 
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Suiteness

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Right, because Kante has never faced world class opposition before, including in this very tournament?

Which team has he faced in this tournament that has a midfield that can rival Croatia? He's going to shine against teams without a midfield (Argentina), or more physical outfits ( Uruguay and Belgium) but he was made to run around like a headless chicken against the intelligent midfielders of Croatia.

Don't know what dense point you're trying to make about the Premiership either.
See above. He can thrive in England because the midfielders over there are more brawns than brains. He would not last a year in Spain.
 

Blender

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Dec 2, 2009
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Pogba was better in this game, but Modric had a better tournament than him.

Oy, see how bad Kanté looked today against world class midifielders with footballing IQ?

That little man will commit carrer suicide if he ever leaves the Premiership.
Kante looked fine today, but he was clearly less aggressive than normal after getting his yellow so it wasn't his best game for sure. Croatia had almost no successful attacks up the middle of the field when he was on, they were destroying Pavard and Hernandez out wide.
 

Moncherry

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Which team has he faced in this tournament that has a midfield that can rival Croatia? He's going to shine against teams without a midfield (Argentina), or more physical outfits ( Uruguay and Belgium) but he was made to run around like a headless chicken against the intelligent midfielders of Croatia.


See above. He can thrive in England because the midfielders over there are more brawns than brains. He would not last a year in Spain.

Probably none of them. He was still France's best midfielder during the tournament, and he still played a key role in shutting out teams like Uruguay and Belgium, who are better than any team Croatia faced on their run to the final.

If that's your assessment of Kante's play in the final and in general, then congratulations.
 

SirKillalot

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Feb 27, 2008
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I agree but the point about competition faced does hold water. For me, the only midfielder that could challenge modric as best in the tournament would be Kante.

Kante didn't have a very good final, but voting was before the final and I think he could have been an outsider to win it. Modric and Kante the top two contenders. Hazard, Rakitic/Perisic outsiders. Pogba a bit of a long shot. Had more quiet games.

I'd rate Pogba's WC as I would Kevin De Bruyne's. There were moments of class but as a whole it left me wanting to see more from both.

Absolutely this.
 

Suiteness

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Probably none of them. He was still France's best midfielder during the tournament, and he still played a key role in shutting out teams like Uruguay and Belgium, who are better than any team Croatia faced on their run to the final.

I don't disagree with you there. All I'm saying is on this day, against this particular opponent, he was garbage and it was no coincidence that Pogba and Matuidi were able to take over the midfield in this gamecwhen he was subbed off.
 

Nalens Oga

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Varane, Kante, Mbappe, and maybe Greizmann were more important to France than Pogba. Pogba was important too but I think they win this tournament regardless even if they sub in or out players in certain positions (most importantly, putting Benzema in for Giroud).
 

Turtleneck Plek

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Mar 23, 2008
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Oy, see how bad Kanté looked today against world class midifielders with footballing IQ?

That little man will commit carrer suicide if he ever leaves the Premiership.

What a ridiculous take. Kanté was booked in the 28th minute. With his playing style in mind, I can absolutely understand how he might've let the pressure of not getting a red in a WC final get to him a bit. He was a different player after the card, a lot more tentative. Deschamps understood that and took him off after his play didn't settle at the start of the second half.

The fact remains that he probably was the best midfielder in the tournament after Modric, and I would argue on the same level, albeit playing a different role. It's not like the Premier League is poor when it comes to world class midfielders either.

And Pogba's been great. Not on Kanté/Modric's level, but I agree with the KdB comparison.
 
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Islesfan22

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I'd rate Pogba's WC as I would Kevin De Bruyne's. There were moments of class but as a whole it left me wanting to see more from both.

I also don't think Modric was that good btw.. Not disputing him winning the Golden Boot but this wasn't Xavi 2008 or Iniesta 2010 level imo.
I think Modric is just as good as Xavi and Iniesta. His success for club and now country has shown that.
 

Evilo

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Mar 17, 2002
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Pogba had a fantastic low profile WC. He scored key goals (even if one was deemed as an OG), made some key passes, but more importantly, he was fantastic in breakouts, which is what France relied on.
Tactically, he was key in France play.

But people expect him to score or assist in every game because he *can*.
When I read here Griez was more important, I laugh. Griez had one good game.

I don't like the KDB comparisons either because that only applies to offensive work, but Pogba was great defensively in every game. KDB was useless defensively.
I agree than Kante and Lloris had better WC, Varane arguably as well. But Pogba is right there with them.

Now Modric didn't dominate this WC IMO. Hardly. He was the oil in the engine of Croatia's team play, but was hardly dominant.
Still he was everywhere and is a worthy winner.

But Pogba doesn't pale in comparison. Nor Lloris, Kante and Varane. Nor Hazard BTW.
 

Corto

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Sep 28, 2005
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No.

Even yesterday, Modric and Croatia controlled game until the screws came loose after France's 3rd goal.
They played Kante off the pitch and the Nzonzi sub may go unnoticed, but it was a good move by Deschamps.

It doesn't mean Pogba was bad, quite the contrary, he had an excellent game. But overall, for the entirety of the WC, being as objective as I can be, I think Modric deserved it.
 

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