Pogba growing into true leader for France, says Lloris

The goalkeeper believes club experiences have helped shape the midfielder into a mature and important locker room presence

Hugo Lloris has praised team-mate Paul Pogba, as he thinks the midfielder's experiences at the club level have helped him become a "true leader" for Les Blues.

While there were questions surrounding Pogba coming off a season with Manchester United in which he endured plenty of criticism , he has responded with a strong performance for his country in .

The midfielder started France's first two group stage games, both victories, as well as Les Blues 4-3 win over in the round of 16.

Pogba shined in the second group stage game against Peru , and then put together an effective performance in the Argentina victory, though he was overshadowed by Kylian Mbappe .

And Lloris thinks Pogba has matured into "a true leader" for the national team since they lost the final of Euro 2016 to two years ago.

"He's maturing, he's growing, he's been accumulating experience with Man United and ," Lloris told a news conference in Nizhny Novgorod. "He's starting to grow in the locker room as well, he's a true leader, he's very ambitious.

"We all know he's extremely talented and he has a lot to offer the team and his team-mates. I think these competitions are good to show the talent of players and I'm sure that will be the case with Paul."

Lloris and France's defence may receive a bit of a repreive in their quarter-finals showdown with Uruguay as striker Edinson Cavani may not be fit in time to pair with Luis Suarez for the match against Les Blues.

Cavani bagged both goals in 's last-16 victory over Portugal, but Lloris thinks it would be wrong to underestimate their opponents if the man does not start.

"Cavani has been a historical figure for PSG," he said. He's scored so many goals, he's a winner, he's a leader, he's very much respected in France as a player and a man because of his values.

"We're getting ready for anything, whether he plays or not, but we know others can play at a high level in his stead. It's true [Luis] Suarez and Cavani are one of the most beautiful attacking pairs.

"But I'm going to say again: Uruguay are a difficult team on the counter and difficult to come up against."