When France takes on Morocco in the World Cup semifinals, Hugo Lloris is adamant that they will need to use “all our might, all our energy.”
Following a nail-biting quarterfinal victory over England on Saturday, Les Bleus advanced to the semifinals for the first time since Brazil in 1998. Olivier Giroud’s late header was the difference in the match.
Lloris had a memorable day because he broke Lilian Thuram’s record of 142 caps for France by making his 143rd international appearance.
As attention shifts to the tournament’s surprise performer, Morocco, who became the first African country to reach the semi-finals after upsetting Portugal, the skipper was given a commemorative shirt by Didier Deschamps.
“[I am] still proud, still honoured to wear the shirt of Les Bleus, even after 143 appearances,” Lloris said in a video posted on France’s official Twitter account.
“I really want to thank the team, the staff, the entire management for making this game so special. Beating England in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, it will remain a special memory for me, but also for my family who were present.
“Now, we’ll prepare well for this semi-final against Morocco. We’ll need all our strength, all our energy knowing that there’s something really special we can achieve.
“I think we’re all aware of this, but we’ll continue to be calm and collected. But it has to come from [the stomach].”
“𝑆𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑜 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝐵𝑙𝑒𝑢𝑠”
After becoming the most-capped player in the history of the French team last night, Hugo Lloris received a personalised 1⃣4⃣3⃣ shirt, to match his number of appearances!#FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/BlQIgNvxUT
— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) December 11, 2022
A customized shirt was also given to Antoine Griezmann, whose precise cross for Giroud’s game-winning goal against England marked a record-breaking 28th assist for Les Bleus.
The Atletico Madrid forward urged his teammates to stay focused on winning the global championship for the first time since Brazil in 1962, even though he feels Kylian Mbappe (18) would soon surpass him.
“Kylian only needs 10 assists to reach 28, so I’m going to enjoy this moment!” he laughed. “There are still two games left, we can do it. Let’s concentrate, be focused and enjoy.”