Didier Deschamps has come under intense scrutiny at this World Cup but deserves far more credit for guiding his side to the final.

There’s a feeling outside his homeland that France have got this far in spite of rather than because of the 49-year-old but the former midfielder has shaped this team far more than his critics around the world appear to realise.

Deschamps has made some bold calls in his tactics and team selection, and most of them have paid off.

The most obvious concerns Benjamin Pavard. Picking Pavard is exactly the type of brave decision Deschamps supposedly shies away from but the manager's choice to blood and then stay loyal to the youngster has proved a masterstroke.

At Stuttgart Pavard plays as a centre-back. At the Lille youth academy, he learned the game as a centre-back or central midfielder. Yet Deschamps saw enough in Pavard’s right-back performances for France U21s to believe the youngster could do a job in that position, and called him up with that in mind in November 2017.

In the build-up to the finals, Deschamps came under pressure to pick a more experienced alternative. The injury Djibril Sidibe suffered in April, and which has hampered him throughout this tournament, led to demands that Mathieu Debuchy be recalled.

World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Hugo Lloris - 7 Assertive when off his line. Got the majority of his decisions right and notably impressed with a diving save to deny Alderweireld in the first half. Not overly tested in the second half. Getty Images World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Benjamin Pavard - 7 Should have found the back of the net after being put through on goal by Mbappe in the first half. Pushed forward on numerous occasions throughout the match but remained defensively assured. His excellent tournament continues. AFP/Getty Images World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Raphael Varane - 7 France couldn’t have asked more from him. Kept Lukaku quiet and a real presence at the heart of his side’s defence. Made few mistakes and led by example from the back. AFP/Getty Images World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Samuel Umtiti - 7 Should have done better in dealing with a dangerous ball from the right moments before the break; almost handed Lukaku a goal-scoring opportunity as a result. Headed home the all-important winner. Defensively solid for most of the game. AFP/Getty Images World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Lucas Hernandez - 6 Unafraid to push on from the back. Happy picking up play from deep and surging forward. Positioning on point. EPA World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings N'golo Kante - 7 His reading of the game was as impressive as ever as he set about disrupting Belgium’s midfield. Typically effective in breaking up play and intercepting passes. Often found himself kick-starting France’s rapid-fire counter-attacks. AP World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Paul Pogba - 8 Showed some slick feet-work when surging forward and was consistent as ever with his forward passes. Disciplined in tracking and dealing with Fellaini too. More than happy to fulfil his defensive duties. A well-rounded performance in all. What a tournament it's been for him. AP World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Kylian Mbappe - 8 Made his presence immediately felt after the first whistle with a surging sprint down the right before delivering a dangerous ball into the ball. Was utterly fantastic all night long with his pace, trickery and vision. Provided Giroud with a number of goal-scoring opportunities and used his speed to mount repeated French breaks. Well on his way to becoming football’s next big thing. AP World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Antoine Griezmann - 7 His link-up play was superb. Kept running all game long as he set about harassing Belgium’s defence and making those all-important runs in the channels. Missed a few chances outside the box, mind. AP World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Blaise Matuidi - 7 Let loose with a stinging first-half chance that made Courtois think but never properly tested the French keeper. A nuisance in midfield with his relentless energy and press. Never stopped working. AFP/Getty Images World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Olivier Giroud - 6 Got down low in the box to threaten with a header that came close to putting France ahead. Not good enough, though, when meeting a sublime squared cross from Mbappe 10 minutes before the break. Lacked the final product in and around Belgium’s box. REUTERS World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Thibaut Courtois - 6 Could he maybe have saved Umtiti’s header? Asides from that he wasn’t overly tested in between the sticks. Faced just two shots on target. AFP/Getty Images World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Toby Alderweireld - 7 Did well under pressure to get a shot off on goal from inside France’s box during the first half but was denied by Lloris. Like his teammates, struggled with Mbappe’s pace. AFP/Getty Images World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Vincent Kompany - 6 Did well in keeping Giroud under wraps as he repeatedly threw his body on the line to muscle the Frenchman off the ball or block his shots. Composed at the back throughout the game. EPA World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Jan Vertonghen - 6 Excellent distribution from out the back, picking out Belgium’s high-pressing wide men throughout the match. Had his hands full with Mbappe and certainly found himself exposed on more than one occasion. AFP/Getty Images World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Axel Witsel - 6 Fired off a superb, stinging strike late on in the game that Lloris did well to push clear. Some of his balls forward from deep were particularly impressive. AFP/Getty Images World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Nacer Chadli - 6 Pushed on down the flank throughout the match but failed to provide his teammates with any real service. AFP/Getty Images World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Moussa Dembele - 6 Conceded a few sloppy fouls here and there, often in dangerous positions. But put in a vitally important goal-denying block on Giroud to stop the Frenchman from scoring after he’d been threaded through by Mbappe. AP World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Marouane Fellaini - 6 Came agonisingly close in the second half after beating Pogba in the air to nod the ball millimetres wide of Lloris’ left-hand side post. Should have asserted himself more against Umtiti for the Frenchman’s goal. AFP/Getty Images World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Kevin De Bruyne - 6 Not his best performance. Created a number of chances in the first half but was somewhat subdued during the second 45 minutes. Even guilty of misplacing a pass here and there. Getty Images World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Romelu Lukaku - 6 Failed to find the target with what should have been a clear-cut header after the restart. After proving so effective against Brazil, this was a quieter display from the forward. EPA World Cup: France vs Belgium player ratings Eden Hazard - 7 A menacing presence with his mazy runs down the left and through the centre of the pitch. Pulled an early chance wide of the French goal. Started brightly as one of Belgium’s best players but not as effective in the second half. AFP/Getty Images

Ex-Arsenal right-back Debuchy has 27 caps and was so impressive on loan at St Etienne during the second-half of 2017-18 that he won Ligue 1’s February Player of the Month award. Deschamps stood by Pavard, however, naming the youngster in the squad and then the team for France’s opening game against Australia. At the time Pavard had made just two starts for France yet he’s rewarded Deschamps’ faith in him with a series of sure-footed performances and that sumptuous volleyed goal versus Argentina.

Opting for Lucas Hernandez on the opposite flank was another audacious call. Barcelona’s Lucas Digne and PSG’s Layvin Kurzawa had featured extensively for France in the two seasons since Euro 2016, but Deschamps overlooked the pair’s claims and plumped for a man in form instead.

It was a bigger gamble than many appreciate. Aged 22, the Atletico Madrid defender made his France debut as late as March this year. He had played just 104 minutes for France when the World Cup squad was announced. Yet he started ahead of Benjamin Mendy in France’s opening game and has been a solid defensive presence ever since.

Deschamps’ major achievement, however, has been to pull off something many thought impossible: getting Paul Pogba to play effectively in a midfield two.

Before the finals Pogba’s stock had fallen to the point that the Manchester United star was no longer seen as an automatic starter. Consider these comments from Deschamps’ former France team-mate Christophe Dugarry, now one of the country’s leading pundits, in March: “For me, Pogba’s lost his place as a titulaire, an automatic starter in the starting line-up. Kante’s indispensable, and if you play in a 4-4-2, it’s Matuidi or Tolisso alongside him. Right now, Tolisso’s better than Pogba.”

Many shared Dugarry’s concerns. Over the past month, however, Deschamps has coaxed the most consistently influential international performances of Pogba’s career out of the 25-year-old by playing him in a role in which he critics said he would never thrive.

It hasn't been easy being France coach (AFP/Getty Images)

For that, Deschamps deserves enormous credit, and especially for the way he stood by his man when Pogba​ went through troubled times at Old Trafford earlier this year.

When Pogba was dropped by his club and relations with Jose Mourinho became strained, Deschamps publicly supported the player, stressing Pogba would remain an important figure for France. The two men’s bond was strengthened. The pair have mutually benefitted this summer.

Having Blaise Matuidi alongside him has helped Pogba do so well. This is another tick next to Deschamps' name. By calling Matuidi into the side for his country’s second game against Peru Deschamps may merely have been correcting the error of sending out France for their opening fixture in a 4-3-3 formation that didn’t work. Yet tournaments are often about making the correct decisions as events unfold. This one definitely falls into that category.

Pogba has finally found form in a blue shirt (AFP/Getty Images)

Matuidi had occasionally operated for PSG as a left-sided piston, but never for France, and it was not on the cards for him to be used in the role. He’s been excellent, providing much-needed balance and setting a crucial example off the ball to his occasionally more lackadaisical team-mates. The aggressive pressing and anticipation that’s instinctive to him has rubbed off on others, spreading irrepressibly across the team in the semi-final win over Belgium.

Legitimate questions remain. It’s a mystery why Deschamps devoted so much time in France’s warm-up friendlies to testing a midfield diamond yet to be used in Russia. It’s odd that at the press conference at which he named his 23-man squad he described Mbappe as a “central striker” only to exclusively use the teenager as a winger - albeit one with licence to move infield - when the action got under way. The suspicion that France might have thrilled us more if only Deschamps had let them off the leash will linger long after the tournament has finished.