Under-fire France coach Raymond Domenech made some predictably controversial and high-profile omissions from his World Cup squad, but there was never any doubting Olympique Lyonnais keeper Hugo Lloris’s seat on the flight to South Africa.

Twenty-three year-old Lloris has been garnering rave reviews across Europe for his Champions League displays in a Lyon shirt, particularly in the French side’s home games with Liverpool and Real Madrid.

And he has been Ligue 1 goalkeeper of the year for the past two seasons, which have seen him break into the French senior team after representing his country at every age group from under-18 through to the under-21s.

 

Impressive seasons for his home town club Nice led to speculation that Lloris might join a leading foreign side during the summer of 2008 – the year he broke into the French national squad.

Then, the lure of multiple French champions Lyon proved the greatest. However, some even bigger names have shown a firm interest in the Gallic custodian, including Manchester United and, more recently, Arsenal.

Lloris has won nine caps since making his international debut in November 2008 in a goalless draw against Uruguay, France’s opening Group A opponents in South Africa on June 11.