France captain Hugo Lloris said on Monday that it was "hard to find comfort after a defeat in such an important event" but vowed to use their experience of losing the Euro 2016 final "as a foundation" for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

It's now time to focus on the 2018 FIFA World Cup, says France captain Hugo Lloris.

Lloris made the comments outside the Elysee Palace in Paris, where the French squad had been invited for lunch with the French president Francois Hollande.

SOUNDBITE: (French) Hugo Lloris, France captain

"It's hard to find comfort after a defeat in such an important event as this Euro final, but it's a good closure to our long and beautiful adventure, we will now have to digest all of this and focus on the World Cup qualification stages as of September."

SOUNDBITE: (French) Hugo Lloris, France captain

"Yes, we have to use this adventure for the future, we did that after the 2014 World Cup, it serves as a foundation and by keeping the same spirit and energy we can only go forward."

A 109th-minute goal from Eder saw Portugal beat France after extra-time in the Euro 2016 final on Sunday at the Stade de France.

It meant that France missed out on their third European Championship title, while Portugal got their hands on the trophy for the first time in their history.