PARIS: French football team captain Huglo Lloris announced his retirement from international football aged 36. His decision comes weeks after Kes Bleus lost the FIFA World Cup final to Argentina in the penalty shootout in Doha.

Lloris led the French side to their historic 2018 FIFA World Cup triumph in Russia and was on the cusp of making history as they reached the finals. However, in the night of the finals of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, France were the second best as Lionel Messi’s Argentina lifted their third World Cup title.

“I have decided to stop my international career, with the feeling that I have given everything,” the Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper told French sports daily L’Equip.

“I think it is important to announce this now, two and a half months before the start of Euro qualifying,” he added.

Lloris played his first international match as a 21-year-old in a friendly against Uruguay in 2008. He announces his international retirement as the country’s most capped player, having made 145 appearances for the national team.

“I have really been thinking about it since the end of the World Cup, but there has been something deep inside of me for maybe six months now and which grew during the competition, leading me to make this decision,” Lloris said in the interview.

Lloris features in a total of 7 major tournaments for France, including Euro 2016, where too France faced a defeat in the titular clash to Portugal. Even though Steve Mandanda and Alphonse Areola were Lloris’ back-up options at the World Cup in Qatar, it is 27-year-old Mike Maignan who plays for AC Milan, who is expected to replace Lloris in the starting 11.

“There comes a time when you need to step aside. I have always said the French national team does not belong to any one person,” Lloris said.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2023