France captain Hugo Lloris ends int'l career, to focus on Tottenham club

World Cup winner Hugo Lloris retired from playing for France after a record 145 appearances.

Lloris won the 2018 World Cup and was captain of the squad that lost to Argentina in the final in Qatar last month.

The 36-year-old goalkeeper told L'Equipe newspaper he will focus on his Tottenham club career in the English Premier League.

I want to continue to perform, to live this sport as I have always done, and maybe this decision will give me more physical freshness with my club," Lloris said.

In the next four or five months, with Tottenham, I want to live strong things, to finish in the top 4 of the Premier League, to do something strong in the Champions League, in the FA Cup too."

France coach Didier Deschamps paid tribute to a great servant of the French team" and a remarkable human being" who decided to retire at the top of his game."

He was captain when I became coach in 2012, I kept the armband for him and I have never regretted it," Deschamps said in a statement relayed by the French Football Federation.

Lloris made his national debut in 2008 in a friendly against Uruguay.

To have been the goalkeeper of the French team for 14 and a half seasons is strong, but it is also mentally exhausting," Lloris said. And I hope that giving myself some time will allow me to continue to play at the highest level for several years.