The Manchester United man spent the night dictating play as he starred in his nation's win and continued to control things when speaking to reporters after the game.
Paul Pogba followed in Cristiano Ronaldo's footsteps and removed a bottle of Heineken during last night's post-match press conference after France beat Germany 1-0 at Euro 2020.
Ronaldo made headlines when he removed two bottles of Coca-Cola while speaking to reporters on Monday ahead of the other 'Group of Death' opener.
Just over 24 hours later, though, devout Muslim Pogba placed another official tournament sponsor aide after he was named 'Star of the Match.'
Although this particular bottle of the Dutch Lager Beer was non-alcoholic, the Manchester United midfielder's religion forbids the consumption of alcohol.
Pogba reportedly adopted the religion in 2019 and drinking it is considered 'haraam' (the word to describe anything prohibited in the Qur'ran or would result in sin) for the French superstar and those who also worship Islam.
Unlike Ronaldo, who firmly said to the camera "Drink water," Pogba didn't make any remark as he put the bottle down below following his nation's Group F victory. Although the pair might not now be in UEFA's good books, each were integral to their respective teams' victories last night.
The Portuguese skipper scored a brace to seal Portugal's 3-0 win over Hungary, breaking three records in the process.
When the match in Budapest began, CR7 became the first player to feature in five European Championship finals, before taking the lead in the all-time Euro goalscoring charts with 11 strikes since 2004.
Soon after, Les Blues' no. 6 took the game to Germany for the world champions, playing a sublime cross-field pass to set up the only goal of the Munich meeting.
Left-back Lucas Hernandez got on the end of it and his ball deflected in off German defender Mats Hummels on the 20-minute mark.
However, Pogba's post-match decision and dominant performance aren't the only reasons why he's is in the headlines today.
 |
| Paul Pogba Removes Heineken |
"I'm not crying for cards, yellow, red cards because of such actions," the 28-year-old said.
"He nibbled, I think, a little bit on me. But we have known each other for a long time.
"I told the referee and he takes decisions and he took a decision. It's over."
Pogba reaffirmed that the Premier League pair had made up, too, saying: "It was a great match for us ... and I didn't want him to be suspended because of such a situation.
"It was towards the end of the match. We hugged each other and that's it."
Prior to the game, Rudger had admitted Joachim Low's men would "have to play a little dirty" but their efforts were thwarted by the imperious and pragmatic France.
138208672551
As Die Mannschaft struggled to trouble Hugo Lloris between the French posts, Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema each had a goal ruled out for offside in the closing stages as they attempted to double their nation's advantage.
Didier Deschamps' side next travels to Hungary on Saturday to face the group's underdogs and a near-capacity crowd at the Puskas Arena at 2pm.
Three hours later, Germany welcome Ronaldo and co as Portugal look to maintain their winning ways.
