Ahead of England's World Cup quarter-final against France, it was put directly to Hugo Lloris that the English media saw him as the weak link in his nation's side and he was asked whether that would motivate him to prove them wrong.
"You don't necessarily need motivation from outside for a World Cup quarter-final. They have their opinion, it will be necessary to answer on the pitch," he said in Qatar. "The most important thing is to remain efficient and help the team."
On questions surrounding his kicking, he added: "As far as the kicking game is concerned, we find ourselves in situations where all the teams are ready to press and increase the difficulty. When you look at all the matches, you see the same thing. The teams are ready to press. When you reach this stage of the competition, you have to get closer to perfection in your choices to avoid putting the team in difficulty."
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Lloris would go on to put in a top drawer performance against England, with a number of saves including one to deny his Tottenham team-mate Harry Kane and a flying tip over his crossbar from a Jude Bellingham effort.
After the game, French media outlet RMC Sport said the English tabloid's negatives stories about Lloris had been met with bemusement within the France squad and fired them up to unite behind their goalkeeper and the team's leader.
Lloris has legendary status within the squad and when the captain speaks they listen. During the half-time break against England he encouraged his team-mates to push on with their efforts and they did.
After the game France and Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni was quoted by RMC Sport as saying in no uncertain terms: "Lloris the weak point of Les Bleus according to the English press? It's (swears)! 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."
Lloris was again impressive in the semi-final against Morocco with his reactions helping keep a clean sheet. It marked his 144th appearance for France, moving two clear of previous record holder Lilian Thuram and 21 ahead of the third-highest appearance maker Thierry Henry.
The 35-year-old goalkeeper made his debut for his country back in November 2008 at the age of 21. Since then he has been there, seen it and done it and now he stands on the verge of becoming the first male captain in the sport's history to lift back-to-back World Cups.
You don't become the captain of France for 14 years if you're an average goalkeeper, let alone a poor one. To be the World Cup-winning skipper once makes you a legend; to do it twice in succession puts you into a remarkable league of your own.
At Tottenham, Lloris has now spent more than a decade as the north London club's undisputed No.1. After 437 appearances for Spurs and 148 clean sheets, that deal for the Frenchman has proved to be one of the biggest bargains in the club's history. He cost just £7.8million from Lyon with the Ligue 1 side getting 20% of any profit Tottenham would make from selling him.
Ten years and four months on and that sell-on clause has never been necessary, not to mention the millions Lloris has saved Spurs in needing to splashing out huge money on a replacement during that decade. The club will miss him when he eventually does move on or hang up his gloves.
Nuno Espirito Santo had been looking to replace the Frenchman last year and Fabio Paratici thought they had his successor lined up in on-loan Atalanta goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini but Lloris redoubled his efforts and showed between the sticks that he was still by far the best man for the job with a very consistent season.
Antonio Conte came in halfway through and agreed without hesitation as he pushed for the club to tie Lloris down to a new two-year contract beyond the one that would have ended last summer.
"There's a sporting director in Italy, [Pantaleo] Corvino. He says you can make mistake about your wife but not about the striker or the goalkeeper," said the Spurs head coach. "This is the best quote to understand football, to build a team. We're talking about two important players with good experience."
Lloris' kicking can be erratic under pressure and once in a while there's a mistake in him - as all goalkeepers have as the last line of defence - but as a leader and a shot stopper the France and Spurs captain has earned his place among the best keepers in the game.
Sunday will bring the sternest test possible on the biggest stage of all as he stands between the best player in the world in Lionel Messi and not only the French goal but the final piece of the Argentine's glittering CV.
Most people see this as Messi's tournament for that very reason, but this can also be Lloris' moment to take his place in football's pantheon of greats. One thing is for sure, you underestimate Hugo Lloris at your peril.
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