Hugo Lloris: ‘I can’t do like Emiliano Martinez in penalties; that’s not me’

Lloris admitted that he isn’t too good with penalties as a goalkeeper.

Hugo Lloris, who has announced his retirement from international football, opened up on the penalties that sunk France in the world cup final. Where Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez indulged in gamesmanship, indulging in chatter with the penalty takers and even throwing away the ball at one instant, Lloris was conservative.

How does he view the entire episode? Can he do what Martinez does?

“In fact, there are things I don't know how to do. Fooling around in goal, ostensibly destabilizing the opponent by playing with the limit, I don't know how to do it. I am too rational, too honest to go into that area. I don't know how to win like that, even if I really didn't want to lose like that, either,” Lloris told L'Equipe.

When the newspaper asked him a direct question: “can you do what Emi Martinez did?” Lloris replied: Trying to bring about success, seeking achievement, yes. But to do like that, it's not me, I can't.”

He also talked about how he had prepared for the Argentine strikers but was fooled by the changes.

“You may have analyzed everything in the Argentinian shooters, having thought about the three options to take, right, left and in the middle, having looked at what they have done in their previous fifty penalties, there are other data , also: when the Argentinians show up, there are only guys who take penalties at club level. Not with us, apart from Kylian. When you see Dybala coming in, Lautaro Martinez, you know why. Dybala, he never kicks in the middle, and this time he puts the ball in the middle, and it goes to that with my foot…”

Lloris admitted that he isn't too good with penalties as a goalkeeper. “In general, I have not been very successful in my career in this exercise (0 shots on goal saved in the French team out of 9 suffered, against Switzerland at Euro 2021 and Argentina at the Cup of the world 2022). That didn't stop me from saving important penalties, and I won some penalty shootouts, but I lost a lot, too. There are goalkeepers who are more successful than others.”

In a recent club game after the world cup final, he would run into Emiliano Martinez as an opponent again and L'Equipe asks him about the episode.

“We must salute Argentina's victory, and say that he was decisive. Afterwards, on the celebration, he was judged enough like that, I don't need to add to it. During the session itself, he used everything he could to destabilize.”