All the focus is on the attackers ahead of the World Cup final. With Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe on the same pitch, how can it not be? But the two men tasked with keeping them out will play a vital role in this final, and have been on quite distinctive journeys to make it to the pinnacle of world football.
One man, the man who could become the first player to lift the World Cup twice as captain, is still attacked by his critics. Hugo Lloris has just passed his decade anniversary as a Tottenham Hotspur player and has been a Premier League stalwart for ten years, but despite being club captain, it has been his international career that has shot him to superstardom.
Well, sort of. Despite being the captain of the finest national team in the world, he somehow fades into the background when you consider their great players. In his own way, that’s how he has become such an infallible leader in the French dressing room. Even the picture of him lifting the World Cup in 2018 showed him at the back of a crowd of players, rather than front and centre.
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Is he the finest goalkeeper in the world? No. But is he the unassuming leader this France team stacked with talent needs? Absolutely. When Laurent Blanc gave him the captaincy for the first time in 2010, Lloris was just 23. It was long-term vision from the former boss, and a decision that 12 years on see him as France’s most-capped player, having played 119 of his 144 international matches with the armband.
His international performances have also been strong for the majority of his time in goal. He was strong as France made the Euro 2016 final, while he made crucial saves against Uruguay and Belgium on their way to the last World Cup final. Yes, he may have made a major blunder in the fina at 4-1 up, but he was a key reason why they won the tournament.
Behind such a talented team that has looked relatively untroubled this time around, Lloris has once again gone under the radar. His big moments came against England when he denied Harry Kane from close range, and then played his part in his Spurs teammate ballooning the crucial penalty over the bar. He might not be everybody’s cup of tea, and Lionel Messi will certainly pose his biggest test so far, but his experience has been invaluable to France over the past decade.
After becoming the most-capped player in the history of the French team last night, Hugo Lloris received a personalised 1โฃ4โฃ3โฃ shirt, to match his number of appearances!
#FiersdetreBleus
Meanwhile, it isn’t an understatement to say that Emi Martinez is the goalkeeper Argentina have been waiting for. Having stuck with Sergio Romero despite his lack of club football for years, they moved away from that train of thought in 2018 and landed upon Franco Armani. I think I’ve bought a pair of his knock-off jeans from Primark before.
Martinez was welcomed into the fold in 2021 and only has 25 caps to his name, but his personality and penalty saving exploits have already endeared him to the Argentina faithful. His obviously close relationship with Lionel Messi has helped. It’s clear the 35-year-old loves having a keeper with such a great presence, and he’s produced key stops in recent shootouts. He made three against Colombia to send Argentina to the Copa America final, and stopped two against the Netherlands in the last eight of this World Cup.
It’s been quite the journey for the former Arsenal youth keeper, who managed to escape the Emirates at the right time to reignite his career. Wojciech Szczesny is another who only saw his career take off once he’d left Arsenal while the likes of Vito Mannone and Matt Macey never made it at the top level. It’s been difficult to be second choice at Arsenal and despite Szczesny’s Serie A renaissance and Aaron Ramsdale’s rapid rise, Martinez still feels like the one that got away.
His impact for Argentina has been monumental, something his captain is more than aware of. “Dibu [Emiliano] Martinez is fundamental.” Messi said to TNT Sports last year.“When they come to him, he always responds.He established himself in goal and we have one of the best goalkeepers in the world.”
Those words will have only boosted the confidence of Argentina’s number one, not that he needed it. As we saw with his dancing on the touchline during the penalty shootout v The Netherlands, and his dancing at Old Trafford, the Aston Villa man is incredibly self-assured.
He’s the complete opposite of Lloris in that sense, who instead contains his emotions inwardly. Two different styles of goalkeeping will meet for the final, but they could be the ones to decide it - rather than the forward stars. If it goes all the way to penalties though, Martinez’s confidence will win the World Cup for Argentina.
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