France beats Nigeria to reach last eight

Pogba struck the opening goal of the last-16 clash with Nigeria with 11 minutes remaining, following a mistake by goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama. The Juventus midfielder had already been denied by Enyeama in the first half, while Yohan Cabaye hit the crossbar as the French stepped up the pressure after the break, CNN reported. Nigeria, aiming to become just the fourth African side to reach the last eight of the tournament, had dominated the first half in Brasilia and was unfortunate to have a goal ruled out for offside. But it faded after the interval and Pogba headed home from close range when Enyeama failed to deal with a corner. And France rubbed salt in Nigerian wounds by adding a second when Joseph Yobo deflected Mathieu Valbuena's cross into his own net. Didier Deschamps men will face either Germany or Algeria in the next round.