Hugo Lloris, world champion goalkeeper in 2018 and runner-up in 2022 after losing the final against Argentina on penalties, announced this Monday at the age of 36 his retirement from the French team, a decision that justifies ” he gave everything” and “there is more than knowing how to conquer”.
In an interview with the sports newspaper L’Équipe, Lloris pointed out that after 14 years of defending the French jersey, he considers that he has reached “the end.”.
The Tottenham goalkeeper justifies the timing of the announcement as there are just two-and-a-half months until the start of the qualifying phase for Euro 2024 and “out of respect for the coach and the players”, so they can have a fresh start.
Lloris explained that the possibility of winning a second consecutive world championship and breaking the record for caps in France motivated him to continue with the ‘bleus’ until the championship in Qatar.
An exhausting World Cup
“What really pushed me in the last few months was the World Cup,” Lloris insisted, explaining that when you’re a goalkeeper “you can stay in your bubble” and added that he lived through the last six seasons as captain. “It’s tiring and I can see that I can’t recover mentally like before. I finished (World Cup) exhausted,” he says.
Hugo Lloris believes the French goal will be overshadowed by his reliever, Mike Maignan. “There is a goalkeeper ready and I need to have some time for myself, my family and my children,” he stresses before stating that “you have to know how to take over.”
“I hope that disconnecting a little more will allow me to continue playing at the highest level for a few years and I will have more freshness,” said Lloris, who has a contract with Tottenham until 2024.
The goalkeeper with the most World Cup appearances
Lloris, who made his debut with the French team in November 2008 in a friendly played in Paris against Uruguay, is one of the record men for the French national team.
At the recent World Cup in Qatar, he became the player who has worn the French shirt the most times, with 145 caps (surpassing Lilian Thuram’s 142) and at 20 games he is the goalkeeper with the most appearances in World Cup finals.
With France, in addition to the 2018 World Cup and the 2022 runner-up, he achieved the League of Nations in 2021 and was a finalist in the 2016 Euro Cup.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
