Hugo Lloris insists France can still be “proud” as he hailed a “special” performance from Kylian Mbappe.
France star Mbappe scored a hat trick, won the Golden Boot and yet still finished on the losing side as Lionel Messi helped Argentina win on penalties.
France captain Lloris said: “There were a lot of great players on the pitch. Messi and Mbappe are very special and were top tonight, top, top players for the team. It’s hard when you lose and you cannot find the right words because it’s too painful. But we gave it our best shot from the start to the end of this tournament and we should be proud of that.
“We were too passive in the first half, we let them do too much damage but twice we came back, showed spirit and great energy to come back. We had two big chances even at 119 minutes before extra time and then it’s even more painful to lose.”
France boss Didier Deschamps admitted he was baffled by his side’s poor display for the first 80 minutes before Mbappe’s late double took it to extra time. Deschamps’ side has been hit by a virus this week but he claimed his players were fully fit but struggled with fatigue after their gruelling semi final with Morocco.
Deschamps said: “The whole of the squad has been facing a tricky situation for a while and maybe that had a physical and psychological impact but I had no concerns about the players who started. They were 100 per cent fit but we only had four days since the last match so there is some tiredness perhaps. We just didn’t show the same energy as in previous matches and it is why for the first hour or so we weren’t in the match.”
Deschamps also praised Mbappe and said: “It was the World Cup of records tonight, many players broke records in this World Cup and Kylian has really left his mark but unfortunately not in the way he would have liked and that is why he was so disappointed at the end of the match.”
Deschamps has been in the job for ten years, his wide won the World Cup four years ago and is widely tipped to continue but said he will have talks with the French FA in January.
He added: “You are not the first to ask that. Even if we had won I would not have replied tonight. I am very sad for my players and staff. I will have a meeting with the president at the beginning of next year and then you will find out.
