France needed Hugo Lloris to reach the World Cup final and he stepped up

15-Dec-2022 15:01:36 | The Guardian

If he wins the World Cup final against Argentina on Sunday, Lloris will retire as France’s greatest ever goalkeeper

By Eric Devin for Get French Football News

We’ve sung the praises of Kylian Mbappé, and his sublime technical ability made all the difference against Morocco, even if his doggedness did not show up on the scoresheet. We’ve sung the praises of Antoine Griezmann, and he turned in another man-of-the-match performance, seemingly appearing everywhere at both ends of the pitch, his industry key in setting up the opening goal. It was almost as if Adrien Rabiot’s absence in midfield through illness was urging Griezmann on to a higher level of excellence. He facilitated the attack while also adding some experience to help the callow pair of Ibrahima Konaté and Youssouf Fofana, who were in the team in place of Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano.

But while assaying France’s stalwarts – including Olivier Giroud and Raphäel Varane – we’ve given scant mention to Hugo Lloris. The France and Tottenham goalkeeper has come a long way since he made his international debut in 2008, lining up alongside Nicolas Anelka, William Gallas, Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira in a goalless draw against Uruguay. Steve Savidan and Jimmy Briand came off the bench in that match, a retro evocation of French football of the early-2000s, a world away from the present. The grim reality was that Raymond Domenech had overstayed his welcome and was truly a spent force by that point – a manager caught between generations in terms of talent while also hamstrung by his own superstitions.