Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was nothing short of a miracle-worker in France’s 1-0 UEFA Nations League victory over Portugal on Saturday, the legendary Jean-Pierre Papin told L’Equipe.
While it won’t quite make up for losing the Euro 2016 final on Parisian soil to Eder’s merry band of Iberians, France at least took some measure of revenge with a hard-fought win which brings Portugal’s brief spell as Nations League champions to an end.
N’Golo Kante was the unlikely match-winner on Saturday as Didier Deschamps’ star-studded team consigned the hosts to a first home defeat since Fernando Santos took over six years ago.
While France were undoubtedly the better side, and would have won comfortably if Anthony Martial had been a little less wasteful, the 2018 World Cup winners were still indebted to some fine saves from their veteran captain.
Lloris denied Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Guerrero from range, before using every inch of his 6ft 2ins frame to tip a Joao Moutinho piledriver over the crossbar.
“A great goalkeeper. Lloris has three balls to save, and he achieved three miracles,” 1991 Ballon D’Or winner Papin said after a result which secured France’s place at the Nations League finals.
“I liked the mastery of this well-organized team. They displayed seriousness and discipline, which is reassuring for the future. We feared that Portugal would crush us, but it was not the case.”
While Lloris and Kante were the undoubted match-winners, there were also plenty of other positives for France to take just three days after a humiliating home defeat to Finland.
Adrien Rabiot produced his finest performance for Les Bleus in an unfamiliar left-sided role, Raphael Varane and Presnel Kimpembe were outstanding at centre-half, while Antoine Griezmann put his Barcelona struggles behind him with a display full of class and quality.
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