French record international Hugo Lloris is putting an end to his international career, he announced in an interview with L’Équipe. The 36-year-old goalkeeper is France’s all-time record international with 145 caps and captained Les Bleus at the World Cup.
Lloris made his international debut in February 2008 and was France’s first goalkeeper at the 2010 World Cup, European Championship 2012, World Cup 2014, European Championship 2016, World Cup 2018, European Championship 2021 and World Cup 2022. Lloris was the last ‘survivor’ in Qatar of the disastrous World Cup 2010. His record of 145 international matches will not be broken for the time being, because number two Lilian Thuram (142) and number three Thierry Henry (123) have already retired. Olivier Giroud (120) and Antoine Griezmann (117) complete the top five and are still active.
In the interview, Lloris says he wants to stop as an international at his peak. He reached the World Cup final with France in Qatar. In the decisive penalty shootout, he was unable to convert any of the Argentinian penalties. In 2018 he became world champion with France; in 2021 Lloris won the Nations League tournament with France. He was a losing finalist at the 2016 European Championships. The goalkeeper will now fully focus on his club career at Tottenham Hotspur, where he is also the first choice goalkeeper.
The downfall
Lloris lost the World Cup final with France against Argentina on penalties. The keeper was already criticized in the run-up to the tournament and did not prove himself to be the penalty killer that Les Bleus needed in Qatar. His return to Spurs resulted in a considerable downer. Lloris released a shot from Douglas Luiz and saw how Emil Buendia then took advantage with the 0-1.
Douglas Luiz eventually made the 0-2 himself and thus decided the game. Afterwards, Souness aimed the arrows at Lloris. “I’m not a big fan of his, I’ve said that before. Since the start of last season, he has made four big mistakes, resulting in a goal against. No goalkeeper in the Premier League has done worse in that period. For me, Lloris has passed its expiration date.”
