LLORIS EQUALS THURAM’S FRANCE RECORD

Hugo Lloris said yesterday he was “honoured and very proud” at the prospect of equalling Lilian Thuram as France’s most-capped player in the World Cup last-16 clash with Poland in Doha.

“It is no small achievement. I am really honoured at the figures and very proud, even if it is very much secondary to the fact that we are on the eve of the last 16 of the World Cup,” the France captain told reporters.

Lloris is set to win his 142nd cap for his country and will therefore match the record held by former right-back Thuram, whose own international career spanned 14 years and who was part of the France team that won the 1998 World Cup.

The Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper, who turns 36 later this month, made his France debut in November 2008, just a few months after Thuram went into international retirement. | AFP