Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has jumped to praise Paul Pogba after his performance for France during their 1-0 semi-final victory over Belgium on Tuesday night.

Pogba started his fifth game of the World Cup and was once again impressive, running the show in midfield alongside N’Golo Kante.

Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti’s header was the difference in the game, and the centre-back was given the Man of the Match award. But Pogba’s performance was equally as admirable, and had his team mates latched onto the chances he created it could’ve been a very different scoreline.

Speaking on Russia Today, where he is currently working as a pundit, Jose Mourinho was particularly impressed by the control Pogba exerted over the 90 minutes, and praised his maturity.

“I think a very good performance by Pogba,” Mourinho said on Russia Today. “Pogba was mature, we played with maturity when he had, to hold position and keep control of the play he did.

“France was good at the basic things of the game. They defended well, the were compact. They scored a goal that probably Fellaini is the last man to touch it but the they score and they try to control the game which basically they did.”

“I think the Belgium players go home with a bad feeling. A feeling that we could do more and better, a feeling that probably Hazard was out of it, because he tried absolutely everything.

“Many of the other players, they kept hiding, and a little bit more in the last 20 to 25 minutes. But they are much better than that. And for me, big occasions, big players, and many of the players they were not there in the big occasion.”