"It’s bulls**t!" - Aurelien Tchouameni hits out at media for targeting France star ahead of England clash at FIFA World Cup
French midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni has hit out at the English media for targeting Hugo Lloris ahead of the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals. The Real Madrid star does not believe the goalkeeper is a weak-link in the team and backed the Tottenham star to prove it on the pitch.
France edged out a 2-1 win over England in the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup on Saturday. Tchouameni opened the scoring before Harry Kane's penalty leveled things up. Olivier Giroud restored the French side's lead in the 78th minute, and Kane missed from the spot late in the game to take it to extra time.
Speaking to the media after the match, Tchouameni was not pleased to hear that Lloris was called the weak-link of the French side. He backed his captain and said:
"Lloris the weak point of les Bleus according to the English press? It's bulls**t! There are always things that are said in the press and the most important thing is to respond on the pitch. He did that today and we are very happy to have him in our team."
The Real Madrid midfielder continued:
"We need to continue like this, and keep measuring up to the competition. We feel little by little that there is a real group forming here. We suffered, but this is the World Cup. We played a very, very good English side that caused us problems. Aside from that, we were able to hang tough, score towards the end and progress."
🎙️Aurélien Tchouaméni après #ENGFRA : « Lloris le point faible des Bleus selon la presse anglaise? C'est des conneries! Il y a toujours des choses qui se disent dans la presse, le plus important, c'est de répondre sur le terrain, il l'a fait aujourd'hui » @RMCsport
Hugo Lloris named as France's weak-link at FIFA World Cup
Chris Sutton was previewing the quarterfinals when he named Hugo Lloris as the weak-link in the France side.
The pundit pointed to the defending champions' failure to keep a clean sheet so far in the tournament and wrote for Daily Mail:
"France haven't kept a clean sheet at this World Cup and though they're a team packed with talented players, I'm still not convinced by Hugo Lloris in goal. Another concern is, out of possession, Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele aren't the hardest workers when it comes to tracking back."
CHRIS SUTTON: I’m not convinced by Lloris in goal, but I’m still backing France to win the World Cup | @Chris_Sutton73 trib.al/SUiFOFe
France take on Morocco in the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup this week.