Martial more confident after working with Solskjaer, says France goalkeeper Lloris

 

France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris believes Anthony Martial has grown more confident under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United.

The forward made his first international appearance since March 2018 when he came on as a substitute in the 1-0 Nations League win over Sweden on Saturday.

Martial won a penalty after drawing a foul from United team-mate Victor Lindelof, only for Antoine Griezmann to miss from the spot.

The 24-year-old, who scored 23 goals in all competitions at club level last season, could be involved on Tuesday in the clash with Croatia after Kylian Mbappe hurt his ankle against Sweden.

Lloris thinks the pressure is now on Martial to follow up his most prolific season with continued good form, but the Tottenham captain believes the former Monaco man will benefit from playing in United's more fluid attack.

"I don't know how his relationship with Solskjaer is, but I think he's more confident," said Lloris.

"There's a very good understanding with the players around him at Manchester United.

"There'll be expectations on him; he will have to confirm his good season. He's committed to doing well for five, 10 minutes, a half or a whole game."

The meeting with Croatia is a repeat of the 2018 World Cup final, which France won 4-2 at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, but Lloris expects their opponents to be more concerned about making amends for a chastening 4-1 loss to Portugal last weekend.

"It's a different context, a different competition [to the World Cup]," he said. "It'll be a whole different game.

"We expect a Croatia team whose pride is a little hurt after the defeat to Portugal.

"We'll try to confirm the result we got in Sweden. Beyond that, we would have liked to have played in front of our fans. It's still an advantage when you play at home - we know they'll be in front of their TVs to cheer us on."