France captain Hugo Lloris says Kylian Mbappe is ready to lead the next generation of talent back to the top of world football,.

France suffered what Lloris described as a “painful" defeat to Argentina in the World Cup final as they lost on penalties despite twice coming back to make it 3-3 after extra time.

But, even in defeat, Mbappe shone with an electric performance as the 23-year-old became the first player since Sir Geoff Hurst in 1966 to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final.

“I believe that this tournament can be used for the future of the France team," said Lloris.

“It was a bit of a handover between a generation arriving in the last phase of their careers and a new generation led by Kylian, who showed strong leadership in this tournament and even more so in this final. We must keep this France team at the top.

“The regret we can have is this first half. We were beaten in all aspects of the game. It's painful.

“Despite that, in the second half, we came back with other intentions. We did it, also thanks to the talent of Kylian Mbappe - who knew how to carry the team through an important moment."