Lloris Rues Poor First Half in France’s Painful World Cup Final Loss

• France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has blamed their poor first half for the loss to Argentina
• Lloris said it was a painful story that could have ended differently if they started well
• He praised Kylian Mbappe's talents for taking the match further than it should have

Argentina's triumph over France in the final of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup has dominated headlines for most of the past hours, ever since Gonzalo Montiel took that decisive kick.

Les Bleus are licking their wounds after a slow start to the game cost them, and if not for a late fightback and Kylian Mbappe's brilliance, the game could have ended at a one-sided 2-0.

France captain Hugo Lloris has highlighted where it all went wrong for the 2018 winners, who were seen by many as the easy favourites the moment they defeated Morocco to reach the finals.

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The French were uncharacteristically poor in the opening two-thirds of the match, failing to hit a shot on target until after the hour mark.

Lloris on what went wrong

The goalkeeper, who came under fire for not being able to save any penalty attempts, spoke to the press after the match, as quoted by GFFN:

“It’s a painful story in any case, which ends in a painful way. It’s true that we miss our first period, with a lot of technical waste, we don’t win the duels, they put them in difficulty. Logically, they lead in the score.”

Lloris praises Mbappe's influence

The match was looking like it would end in a convincing 2-0 win for Argentina with 10 minutes left on the clock, before Kylian Mbappe stepped up and dragged the match to extra time.

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In the extra time, it looked like Argentina would steal it after Messi scored to make it 3-2, but Mbappe stepped up yet again to force the game to penalties.

Lloris identified him as the pride of Les Bleus:

“In the middle of the second period, we had the burst of pride and the talent of Kylian to come back to 2-2. It was like a boxing match, blow for blow.”

Argentina 'was born to suffer'

The match had fans of La Albiceleste and Lionel Messi on the edge of their seats, as the advantages in the match swung back and forth.

As Sports Brief earlier revealed, Argentina midfielder Rodrigo De Paul said he and his teammates are born to suffer and they enjoy what that suffering does to them.

The blue and white are used to such gruelling wins, as shown in their Copa America win and their road to the 2022 World Cup final.