France national football team

USFSA France team (or Club Français) at 1900 Summer Olympics

The France national football team was created in 1904 around the time of FIFA's foundation on 21 May 1904 and contested its first official international match on 1 May 1904 against Belgium in Brussels, which ended in a 3–3 draw.[4] The following year, on 12 February 1905, France contested their first-ever home match against Switzerland. The match was played at the Parc des Princes in front of 500 supporters. France won the match 1–0 with the only goal coming from Gaston Cyprès. Due to disagreements between FIFA and the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA), the country's sports union, France struggled to establish an identity. On 9 May 1908, the French Interfederal Committee (CFI), a rival organization to the USFSA, ruled that FIFA would now be responsible for the club's appearances in forthcoming Olympic Games and not the USFSA. In 1919, the CFI transformed themselves into the French Football Federation (FFF). In 1921, the USFSA finally merged with the FFF.

In July 1930, France appeared in the inaugural FIFA World Cup, held in Uruguay. In their first-ever World Cup match, France defeated Mexico 4–1 at the Estadio Pocitos in Montevideo. Lucien Laurent became notable in the match as he scored not only France's first World Cup goal, but the first goal in World Cup history. Conversely, France also became the first team to not score in a match after losing 1–0 to fellow group stage opponents Argentina. Another loss to Chile resulted in the team bowing out in the group stage. The following year saw the first selection of a black player to the national team. Raoul Diagne, who was of Senegalese descent, earned his first cap on 15 February in a 2–1 defeat to Czechoslovakia. Diagne later played with the team at the 1938 World Cup, alongside Larbi Benbarek, who was one of the first players of North African origin to play for the national team. At the 1934 World Cup, France suffered elimination in the opening round, losing 3–2 to Austria. On the team's return to Paris, they were greeted as heroes by a crowd of over 4,000 supporters. France hosted the 1938 World Cup and reached the quarterfinals, losing 3–1 to defending champions Italy.

The 1950s saw France handed its first Golden Generation composed of players such as Just Fontaine, Raymond Kopa, Jean Vincent, Robert Jonquet, Maryan Wisnieski, Thadée Cisowski, and Armand Penverne. At the 1958 World Cup, France reached the semi-finals losing to Brazil. In the third-place match, France defeated West Germany 6–3 with Fontaine recording four goals, which brought his goal tally in the competition to 13, a World Cup record. The record still stands today. France hosted the inaugural UEFA European Football Championship in 1960 and, for the second straight international tournament, reached the semi-finals. In the round, France faced Yugoslavia and were shocked 5–4 despite being up 4–2 heading into the 75th minute. In the third-place match, France was defeated 2–0 by the Czechoslovakians.

The 1960s and 70s saw France decline significantly playing under several managers and failing to qualify for numerous international tournaments. On 25 April 1964, Henri Guérin was officially installed as the team's first manager. Under Guérin, France failed to qualify for the 1962 World Cup and the 1964 European Nations' Cup. The team did return to major international play following qualification for the 1966 World Cup. The team lost in the group stage portion of the tournament. Guérin was fired following the World Cup. He was replaced by José Arribas and Jean Snella, who worked as caretaker managers in dual roles. The two only lasted four matches and were replaced by former international Just Fontaine, who only lasted two. Louis Dugauguez succeeded Fontaine and following his early struggles in qualification for the 1970 World Cup, was fired and replaced by Georges Boulogne, who could not get the team to the competition. Boulogne was later fired following his failure to qualify for the 1974 World Cup and was replaced by the Romanian Ștefan Kovács, who became the only international manager to ever manage the national team. Kovács also turned out to be a disappointment failing to qualify for the 1974 World Cup and UEFA Euro 1976. After two years in charge, he was sacked and replaced with Michel Hidalgo.

Michel Platini captained France to victory at UEFA Euro 1984.

Under Hidalgo, France flourished, mainly due to the accolades of great players like defenders Marius Trésor and Maxime Bossis, striker Dominique Rocheteau and midfielder Michel Platini, who, alongside Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse and Luis Fernández formed the "carré magique" ("Magic Square"), which would haunt opposing defenses beginning at the 1982 World Cup, where France reached the semi-finals losing on penalties to rivals West Germany. The semi-final match-up is considered one of the greatest matches in World Cup history and was marred with controversy.[5] France earned their first major international honor two years later, winning Euro 1984, which they hosted. Under the leadership of Platini, who scored a tournament-high nine goals, France defeated Spain 2–0 in the final. Platini and Bruno Bellone scored the goals. Following the Euro triumph, Hidalgo departed the team and was replaced by former international Henri Michel. France later completed the hat-trick when they won gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics football tournament and, a year later, defeated Uruguay 2–0 to win the Artemio Franchi Trophy, an early precursor to the FIFA Confederations Cup. Dominique Rocheteau and José Touré scored the goals. In a span of a year, France were holders of three of the four major international trophies. At the 1986 World Cup, France were favorites to win the competition, and, for the second consecutive World Cup, reached the semi-finals where they faced West Germany. Again, however, they lost. A 4–2 victory over Belgium gave France third place.

In 1988, the FFF opened the Clairefontaine National Football Institute. Its opening ceremony was attended by then-President of France, François Mitterrand. Five months after Clairefontaine's opening, manager Henri Michel was fired and was replaced by Michel Platini, who failed to get the team to the 1990 World Cup. Platini did lead the team to Euro 1992 and, despite going on a 19-match unbeaten streak prior to the competition, suffered elimination in the group stage. A week after the completion of the tournament, Platini stepped down as manager and was replaced by his assistant Gérard Houllier. Under Houllier, France and its supporters experienced a heartbreaking meltdown after having qualification to the 1994 World Cup all but secured with two matches to go, which were against last place Israel and Bulgaria. In the match against Israel, France was upset 3–2 and, in the Bulgaria match, suffered an astronomical 2–1 defeat. The subsequent blame and public outcry to the firing of Houllier and departure of several players from the national team fold. His assistant Aimé Jacquet was given his post.

Under Jacquet, the national team experienced its triumphant years. The squad composed of veterans that failed to reach the 1994 FIFA World Cup were joined by influential youngsters, such as Zinedine Zidane. The team started off well reaching the semi-finals of Euro 1996, where they lost 6–5 on penalties to the Czech Republic. In the team's next major tournament at the 1998 World Cup at home, Jacquet led France to glory defeating Brazil 3–0 in the final at the Stade de France in Paris. Jacquet stepped down after the country's World Cup triumph and was succeeded by assistant Roger Lemerre who guided them through Euro 2000. Led by FIFA World Player of the Year Zidane, France defeated Italy 2–1 in the final. David Trezeguet scored the golden goal in extra time. The victory gave the team the distinction of being the first national team to hold both the World Cup and Euro titles since West Germany did so in 1974, and it was also the first time that a reigning World Cup winner went on to capture the Euro. Following the result, the France national team was inserted to the number one spot in the FIFA World Rankings.

Zinedine Zidane captaining France at the 2006 FIFA World Cup

France failed to maintain that pace in subsequent tournaments. Although, the team won the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, France suffered a first-round elimination at the 2002 World Cup. One of the greatest shocks in World Cup history saw France condemned to a 1–0 defeat to debutantes Senegal in the opening game of the tournament. France became the second nation to be eliminated in the first-round while holding the World Cup crown, the first one being Brazil in 1966. After the 2010, 2014, and 2018 World Cups, Italy, Spain, and Germany were also added to this list.[6] After France finished bottom of the group, Lemerre was dismissed and was replaced by Jacques Santini. A full-strength team started out strongly at Euro 2004, but they were upset in the quarter-finals by the eventual winners Greece. Santini resigned as coach and Raymond Domenech was picked as his replacement. France struggled in the early qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup. This prompted Domenech to persuade several past members out of international retirement to help the national team qualify, which they accomplished following a convincing 4–0 win over Cyprus on the final day of qualifying. In the 2006 World Cup final stages, France finished undefeated in the group stage portion and advanced all the way to the final defeating the likes of Spain, Brazil, and Portugal en route. France played Italy in the final and, in part down to controversial disruptions in extra time that lead to captain Zinedine Zidane being sent off, failed to find a winning goal, Italy winning 5–3 on penalties to be crowned World Cup champions.

The French team in front of fans in 2006.

France started its qualifying round for Euro 2008 strong and qualified for the tournament, despite two defeats to Scotland. France bowed out during the group stage portion of the tournament after having been placed in the group of death (which included Netherlands and Italy).[7][8] Just like the team's previous World Cup qualifying campaign, the 2010 campaign got off to a disappointing start with France suffering disastrous losses and earning uninspired victories. France eventually finished second in the group and earned a spot in the UEFA play-offs against the Republic of Ireland for a place in South Africa. In the first leg, France defeated the Irish 1–0 and in the second leg procured a 1–1 draw, via controversial circumstances, to qualify for the World Cup.[9]

In the 2010 World Cup final stages, the team continued to perform under expectations and were eliminated in the group stage, while the negative publicity the national team received during the competition led to further repercussions back in France. Midway through the competition, striker Nicolas Anelka was dismissed from the national team after reportedly having a dispute, in which obscenities were passed, with team manager Raymond Domenech during half-time of the team's loss to Mexico.[10][11] The resulting disagreement over Anelka's expulsion between the players, the coaching staff and FFF officials resulted in the players boycotting training before their third game.[12][13][14] In response to the training boycott, Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot lectured the players and "reduced France's disgraced World Cup stars to tears with an emotional speech on the eve of their final group A match".[15] France then lost their final game 2–1 to the hosts South Africa and failed to advance to the knockout stage. The day after the team's elimination, it was reported by numerous media outlets that then President of France Nicolas Sarkozy would meet with team captain Thierry Henry to discuss the issues associated with the team's meltdown at the World Cup, at Henry's request.[16] Following the completion of the World Cup tournament, Federation President Jean-Pierre Escalettes resigned from his position.

Domenech, whose contract had expired, was succeeded as head coach by former international Laurent Blanc. On 23 July 2010, at the request of Blanc, the FFF suspended all 23 players in the World Cup squad for the team's friendly match against Norway after the World Cup.[17] On 6 August, five players who were deemed to have played a major role in the training boycott were disciplined for their roles.[18][19]

After captaining France intermittently since 2010, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has been the French captain permanently since February 2012.

At Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, France reached the quarter-finals, where they were beaten by eventual champions Spain.[20][21] Following the tournament, coach Laurent Blanc resigned and was succeeded by Didier Deschamps, who captained France to glory in the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.[22][23] His team qualified for the 2014 World Cup by beating Ukraine in the playoffs, and Deschamps then extended his contract until Euro 2016.[24] Missing star midfielder Franck Ribéry through injury,[25] France lost to eventual champions Germany in the quarter-finals courtesy of an early goal by Mats Hummels.[26] Paul Pogba was awarded the Best Young Player award during the tournament.[27]

France automatically qualified as hosts for Euro 2016.[28] Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa were not in the squad.[29][30] France were drawn in Group A of the tournament alongside Romania, Switzerland and Albania.[31] France won their group with wins over Romania and Albania and a goalless draw against Switzerland and were poised to play the Republic of Ireland in the round of sixteen.[32] Ireland took the lead after just two minutes through a controversially awarded penalty, which was converted by Robbie Brady. A brace from Antoine Griezmann, however, helped France to win the match 2–1 and qualify for the quarter-finals, where they beat a resilient Iceland 5–2 to set up a semi-final clash against world champions and tournament co-favourites Germany.[33][34][35] France won the match 2–0, marking their first win over Germany at a major tournament since 1958.[36][37] France, however, were beaten by Portugal 1–0 in the final courtesy of an extra-time goal by Eder. Griezmann was named the Player of the Tournament and was also awarded the Golden Boot in addition to being named in the Team of the Tournament, alongside Dimitri Payet. The defeat meant that France became the second nation to have lost the final on home soil, after Portugal lost the final to Greece in 2004.[38][39][40][41][42]

In 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying, France topped their group with 23 points; winning 7 wins, drawing 2 and losing once,[43] although their two draws were against considerably weaker nations, drawing 0–0 with Belarus in their opening match[44] and against Luxembourg, failing to secure a win against the latter for the first time since 1914, nearly 103 years.[45] Their only defeat of the qualifying phase was against Sweden; losing 2–1 in the last few minutes following an error from goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.[46] France secured qualification to the World Cup finals with a 2–1 win over Belarus after atomizing the Netherlands 4 to 0 at home a few weeks earlier.[47] They were drawn to play Australia, Peru and Denmark in a group in which they were considered heavy favourites.[48][49] Overall, due to the strength and value of their squad, France were tipped by many as one of the favourites for the title.[50][51][52] France, however, had a somewhat disappointing performance in the group stage, only managing a 2–1 win over Australia and a 1–0 win over Peru, followed by a match against Denmark which finished in a 0–0 draw.[53][54][55][56] France beat Argentina 4–3 in the round of sixteen and then Uruguay 2–0 to qualify for the semi-final stage, where they beat Belgium 1–0 courtesy of a goal from defender Samuel Umtiti.[57][58] France approached this semi-final in a diametrically opposed way to Japan in the round of 16 against these same Belgians: Les Bleus played low block to not leave any space to the Belgians and in counter-attack, this defensive approach was successful unlike Japan's overly offensive and open game (which led to the three Belgian goals while Japan was leading 2-0), even if this led to criticism from some Belgian players who felt they were better than France.[59] On 15 July, France beat Croatia in the final with result 4–2 to win the World Cup for the second time.[60] Didier Deschamps became the third man to win the World Cup as a player and a coach and also became the second man to win the title as a captain and a coach.[61] Kylian Mbappé was awarded the Best Young Player award and Antoine Griezmann was awarded the Bronze Ball and the Silver Boot for their performance during the tournament.[62] Upon scoring in the final, Mbappé became only the second teenager to score in a World Cup Final, the last being Pelé in 1958.

During France's early years, the team's national stadium alternated between the Parc des Princes in Paris and the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir in Colombes. France also hosted matches at the Stade Pershing, Stade de Paris, and the Stade Buffalo, but to a minimal degree. As the years moved forward, France began hosting matches outside the city of Paris at such venues as the Stade Marcel Saupin in Nantes, the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, the Stade de Gerland in Lyon, and the Stade de la Meinau in Strasbourg.

Stade de France

Following the renovation of the Parc des Princes in 1972, which gave the stadium the largest capacity in Paris, France moved into the venue permanently. The team still hosted friendly matches and minor FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Football Championship qualification matches at other venues. Twice France have played home matches in a French overseas department – in 2005 against Costa Rica in Fort-de-France (Martinique) and in 2010 against China in Saint Pierre (Réunion). Both matches were friendlies.

In 1998, the Stade de France was inaugurated as France's national stadium ahead of the 1998 World Cup. Located in Saint-Denis, a Parisian suburb, the stadium has an all-seater capacity of 81,338. France's first match at the stadium was played on 28 January 1998 against Spain. France won the match 1–0, with Zinedine Zidane scoring the lone goal. Since that match, France has used the stadium for almost every major home game, including the 1998 World Cup final.

Prior to matches, home or away, the national team trains at the INF Clairefontaine academy in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines. Clairefontaine is the national association football centre and is among 12 élite academies throughout the country. The centre was inaugurated in 1976 by former FFF president Fernand Sastre and opened in 1988. The center drew media spotlight following its usage as a base camp by the team that won the 1998 World Cup.

In the 20th and 23rd minute of an international friendly on 13 November 2015, against Germany, three groups of terrorists attempted to detonate bomb vests, at three entrances of Stade de France, and two explosions occurred. Play would continue, until the 94th minute, in order to keep the crowd from panicking. Consequently, the stadium was evacuated through the unaffected gates of the stadium away from the players benches. Due to the blocked exits, spectators who could not leave the stadium had to go down to the pitch and wait until it was safer.

The following matches have been played within the past 12 months.

2021

France  v  Kazakhstan

13 November 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiying Group D	France	8–0	Kazakhstan	Paris, France
20:45 CET (UTC+1)	Mbappé 6', 12', 32', 87' Benzema 55', 59' Rabiot 75' Griezmann 84' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Parc des Princes Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)

Finland  v  France

16 November 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiying Group D	Finland	0–2	France	Helsinki, Finland
20:45 CET (UTC+1)		Report	Benzema 66' Mbappé 76'	Stadium: Helsinki Olympic Stadium Attendance: 31,890 Referee: Marco Guida (Italy)

.

2022

France  v  Ivory Coast

25 March 2022 Friendly	France	2–1	Ivory Coast	Marseille, France
CET (UTC+1)	Giroud 22' Tchouaméni 90+3'	Report	Pépé 19'	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Referee: Vítor Ferreira (Portugal)

France  v  South Africa

29 March 2022 Friendly	France	5–0	South Africa	Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France
CEST (UTC+2)	Mbappé 23', 76' (pen.) Giroud 34' Ben Yedder 81' Guendouzi 90+2'	Report	Mudau  84'	Stadium: Stade Pierre-Mauroy Referee: Sandro Schärer (Switzerland)

France  v  Denmark

3 June 2022 Nations League	France	1–2	Denmark	Saint-Denis, France
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)	Benzema 51'	Report	Cornelius 68', 88'	Stadium: Stade de France Attendance: 75,833 Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany)

Croatia  v  France

6 June 2022 Nations League	Croatia	1–1	France	Split, Croatia
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)	Kramarić 83' (pen.)	Report	Rabiot 52'	Stadium: Stadion Poljud Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Marco Guida (Italy)

Austria  v  France

10 June 2022 Nations League	Austria	1–1	France	Vienna, Austria
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)	Weimann 37'	Report	Mbappé 83'	Stadium: Ernst-Happel-Stadion Attendance: 44,800 Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (Greece)

France  v  Croatia

13 June 2022 Nations League	France	0–1	Croatia	Saint-Denis, France
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)		Report	Modrić 5' (pen.)	Stadium: Stade de France Attendance: 77,410 Referee: Orel Grinfeld (Israel)

France  v  Austria

22 September 2022 Nations League	France	2–0	Austria	Saint-Denis, France
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)	Mbappé 56' Giroud 65'	Report		Stadium: Stade de France Attendance: 70,188 Referee: Andreas Ekberg (Sweden)

Denmark  v  France

25 September 2022 Nations League	Denmark	2–0	France	Copenhagen, Denmark
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)	Dolberg 34' Skov Olsen 39'	Report		Stadium: Parken Stadium Attendance: 36,064 Referee: István Kovács (Romania)

France  v  Australia

22 November 2022 2022 FIFA World Cup	France	v	Australia	Al Wakrah, Qatar
22:00 AST (UTC+3)				Stadium: Al Janoub Stadium

France  v  Denmark

26 November 2022 2022 FIFA World Cup	France	v	Denmark	Doha, Qatar
19:00 AST (UTC+3)				Stadium: Stadium 974

Tunisia  v  France

30 November 2022 2022 FIFA World Cup	Tunisia	v	France	Al-Rayyan, Qatar
18:00 AST (UTC+3)				Stadium: Education City Stadium

2023

France  v  Netherlands

24 March 2023 (2023-03-24) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group B	France	v	Netherlands
20:45		Report

Republic of Ireland  v  France

27 March 2023 (2023-03-27) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group B	Republic of Ireland	v	France
20:45 (19:45 UTC+1)		Report

Gibraltar  v  France

16 June 2023 (2023-06-16) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group B	Gibraltar	v	France
20:45		Report

France  v  Greece

19 June 2023 (2023-06-19) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group B	France	v	Greece
20:45		Report

France  v  Republic of Ireland

7 September 2023 (2023-09-07) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group B	France	v	Republic of Ireland
20:45		Report

Netherlands  v  France

13 October 2023 (2023-10-13) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group B	Netherlands	v	France
20:45		Report

France  v  Gibraltar

18 November 2023 (2023-11-18) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group B	France	v	Gibraltar
20:45		Report

Greece  v  France

21 November 2023 (2023-11-21) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group B	Greece	v	France
20:45 (21:45 UTC+2)		Report

Didier Deschamps, the current coach of the France national football team.

As of August 2019.[79]

Position	Name
Head coach	Didier Deschamps
Assistant coach	Guy Stéphan
Goalkeeper coach	Franck Raviot
Trainer	Cyril Moine
Doctor	Franck Le Gall
Video analyst	Thierry Marszalek Eric Dubray
Osteopath	Jean-Yves Vandewalle
Physiotherapists	Christophe Geoffroy Denis Morcel Alexandre Germain Guillaume Vassout
Team Manager	Philippe Brocherieux
Chef	Xavier Rousseau
Security officer	Mohamed Sanhadji
Steward	Bachir Nehar
Media officer	Raphaël Raymond

Coaching history

As of 25 September 2022

Managers in italics were hired as caretakers

Manager	France career	Pld	W	D	L	Win %
Henri Guérin	1964–1966	15	5	4	6	033.3
José Arribas Jean Snella	1966	4	2	0	2	050.0
Just Fontaine	1967	2	0	0	2	000.0
Louis Dugauguez	1967–1968	9	2	3	4	022.2
Georges Boulogne	1969–1973	31	15	5	11	048.4
Ștefan Kovács	1973–1975	15	6	4	5	040.0
Michel Hidalgo	1976–1984	75	41	16	18	054.7
Henri Michel	1984–1988	36	16	12	8	044.4
Michel Platini	1988–1992	29	16	8	5	055.2
Gérard Houllier	1992–1993	12	7	1	4	058.3
Aimé Jacquet	1993–1998	53	34	16	3	064.2
Roger Lemerre	1998–2002	53	34	11	8	064.2
Jacques Santini	2002–2004	28	22	4	2	078.6
Raymond Domenech	2004–2010	79	41	24	14	051.9
Laurent Blanc	2010–2012	27	16	7	4	059.3
Didier Deschamps	2012–present	132	84	27	21	063.6

As of 25 September 2022[81]

Players in bold are still active with France.

Most capped players

Lilian Thuram is the most capped player in the history of France with 142 caps.

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Lilian Thuram	142	2	1994–2008
2	Hugo Lloris	139	0	2008–present
3	Thierry Henry	123	51	1997–2010
4	Marcel Desailly	116	3	1993–2004
5	Olivier Giroud	114	49	2011–present
6	Antoine Griezmann	110	42	2014–present
7	Zinedine Zidane	108	31	1994–2006
8	Patrick Vieira	107	6	1997–2009
9	Didier Deschamps	103	4	1989–2000
10	Karim Benzema	97	37	2007–present
	Laurent Blanc		16	1989–2000
	Bixente Lizarazu		2	1992–2004

Top goalscorers

Thierry Henry is the top scorer in the history of France with 51 goals.

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Average	Career
1	Thierry Henry (list)	51	123	0.41	1997–2010
2	Olivier Giroud (list)	49	114	0.43	2011–present
3	Antoine Griezmann	42	110	0.38	2014–present
4	Michel Platini	41	72	0.57	1976–1987
5	Karim Benzema	37	97	0.38	2007–present
6	David Trezeguet	34	71	0.48	1998–2008
7	Zinedine Zidane	31	108	0.29	1994–2006
8	Just Fontaine	30	21	1.43	1953–1960
	Jean-Pierre Papin	30	54	0.56	1986–1995
10	Kylian Mbappé	28	59	0.47	2017–present
	Youri Djorkaeff	28	82	0.34	1993–2002

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place     Tournament played on home soil  

FIFA World Cup

France was one of the four European teams that participated at the inaugural World Cup in 1930 and have appeared in 15 FIFA World Cups, tied for sixth-best. The national team is one of eight national teams to have won at least one FIFA World Cup title. The France team won their first World Cup title in 1998. The tournament was played on home soil and France defeated Brazil 3–0 in the final match.

In 2006, France finished as runners-up losing 5–3 on penalties to Italy. The team has also finished in third place on two occasions in 1958 and 1986 and in fourth place once in 1982. The team's worst results in the competition were first-round eliminations in 2002 and 2010. In 2002, the team suffered an unexpected loss to Senegal and departed the tournament without scoring a goal, while in 2010, a French team torn apart by conflict between the players and staff lost two of three matches and drew the other.[82][83]

In 2014, France advanced to the quarterfinal before losing to the eventual champion, Germany, 1–0.

In 2018, France defeated Croatia 4–2 in the final match and won the World Cup for the second time.[84]

FIFA World Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	—
1930	Group stage	7th	3	1	0	2	4	3	Squad		Qualified as invitees
1934	Round of 16	9th	1	0	0	1	2	3	Squad		1	1	0	0	6	1	1934
1938	Quarter-finals	6th	2	1	0	1	4	4	Squad		Qualified as hosts						1938
1950	Did not qualify										3	0	2	1	4	5	1950
1954	Group stage	11th	2	1	0	1	3	3	Squad		4	4	0	0	20	4	1954
1958	Third place	3rd	6	4	0	2	23	15	Squad		4	3	1	0	19	4	1958
1962	Did not qualify										5	3	0	2	10	4	1962
1966	Group stage	13th	3	0	1	2	2	5	Squad		6	5	0	1	9	2	1966
1970	Did not qualify										4	2	0	2	6	4	1970
1974											4	1	1	2	3	5	1974
1978	Group stage	12th	3	1	0	2	5	5	Squad		4	2	1	1	7	4	1978
1982	Fourth place	4th	7	3	2	2	16	12	Squad		8	5	0	3	20	8	1982
1986	Third place	3rd	7	4	2	1	12	6	Squad		8	5	1	2	15	4	1986
1990	Did not qualify										8	3	3	2	10	7	1990
1994											10	6	1	3	17	10	1994
1998	Champions	1st	7	6	1	0	15	2	Squad		Qualified as hosts						1998
2002	Group stage	28th	3	0	1	2	0	3	Squad		Qualified as defending champions						2002
2006	Runners-up	2nd	7	4	3	0	9	3	Squad		10	5	5	0	14	2	2006
2010	Group stage	29th	3	0	1	2	1	4	Squad		12	7	4	1	20	10	2010
2014	Quarter-finals	7th	5	3	1	1	10	3	Squad		10	6	2	2	18	8	2014
2018	Champions	1st	7	6	1	0	14	6	Squad		10	7	2	1	18	6	2018
2022	Qualified										8	5	3	0	18	3	2022
2026	To be determined										To be determined						2026
Total	2 titles	16/22	66	34	13	19	120	77	—		119	70	26	23	234	91	—

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA European Championship

France is one of the most successful nations at the UEFA European Championship having won two titles in 1984 and 2000. The team is just below Spain and Germany who have won three titles each. France hosted the inaugural competition in 1960 and have appeared in nine UEFA European Championship tournaments, tied for fourth-best. The team won their first title on home soil in 1984 and were led by Ballon d'Or winner Michel Platini. In 2000, the team, led by FIFA World Player of the Year Zinedine Zidane, won its second title in Belgium and the Netherlands. The team's worst result in the competition was a first-round elimination in 1992 and 2008.

UEFA European Championship record											Qualifying record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	—
1960	Fourth place	4th	2	0	0	2	4	7	Squad		4	3	1	0	17	6	1960
1964	Did not qualify										6	2	1	3	11	10	1964
1968											8	4	2	2	16	12	1968
1972											6	3	1	2	10	8	1972
1976											6	1	3	2	7	6	1976
1980											6	4	1	1	13	7	1980
1984	Champions	1st	5	5	0	0	14	4	Squad		Qualified as hosts						1984
1988	Did not qualify										8	1	4	3	4	7	1988
1992	Group stage	6th	3	0	2	1	2	3	Squad		8	8	0	0	20	6	1992
1996	Third place	3rd	5	2	3	0	5	2	Squad		10	5	5	0	22	2	1996
2000	Champions	1st	6	5	0	1	13	7	Squad		10	6	3	1	17	10	2000
2004	Quarter-finals	6th	4	2	1	1	7	5	Squad		8	8	0	0	29	2	2004
2008	Group stage	15th	3	0	1	2	1	6	Squad		12	8	2	2	25	5	2008
2012	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	3	5	Squad		10	6	3	1	15	4	2012
2016	Runners-up	2nd	7	5	1	1	13	5	Squad		Qualified as hosts						2016
2020	Round of 16	11th	4	1	3	0	7	6	Squad		10	8	1	1	25	6	2020
2024	To be determined										To be determined						2024
Total	2 titles	10/16	43	21	12	10	69	50	—		112	67	27	18	231	91	—

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
League phase													Finals
Season	LG	GP	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	RK		Year	Pos	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad
2018–19	A	1	2nd	4	2	1	1	4	4		6th		2019	Did not qualify
2020–21	A	3	1st	6	5	1	0	12	5		1st		2021	1st	2	2	0	0	5	3	Squad
2022–23	A	1	3rd	6	1	2	3	5	7		12th		2023	Did not qualify
2024–25	A	To be determined											2025	To be determined
Total				16	8	4	4	21	16	12th			Total		2	2	0	0	5	3	—

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Group stage played home and away. Flag shown represents host nation for the finals stage.

FIFA Confederations Cup

France have appeared in two of the eight FIFA Confederations Cups contested and won the competition on both appearances. The team's two titles place in second place only trailing Brazil who have won four. France won their first Confederations Cup in 2001 having appeared in the competition as a result of winning the FIFA World Cup in 1998. The team defeated Japan 1–0 in the final match. In the following Confederations Cup in 2003, France, appearing in the competition as the host country, won the competition beating Cameroon 1–0 after extra time.

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad
1992	Did not qualify
1995
1997
1999
2001	Champions	1st	5	4	0	1	12	2	Squad
2003	Champions	1st	5	5	0	0	12	3	Squad
2005	Did not qualify
2009
2013
2017
Total	2 titles	2/10	10	9	0	1	24	5	—

CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions

CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1985	Champions	1st	1	1	0	0	2	0
1993	Did not qualify
2022
Total	1 title	1/3	1	1	0	0	2	0

France celebrating their victory of the 2018 FIFA World Cup

This is a list of honours for the senior France national team

• FIFA World Cup
  • Champions (2): 1998, 2018
  • Runners-up: 2006
  • Third place: 1958, 1986
  • Fourth place: 1982

• UEFA European Championship
  • Champions (2): 1984, 2000
  • Runners-up: 2016
  • Third place: 1996
  • Fourth place: 1960

• FIFA Confederations Cup
  • Champions (2): 2001, 2003

• CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions
  • Champions (1): 1985

• UEFA Nations League
  • Champions (1): 2021

Competition				Total
FIFA World Cup	2	1	2	5
UEFA European Championship	2	1	1	4
FIFA Confederations Cup	2	0	0	2
CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions	1	0	0	1
UEFA Nations League	1	0	0	1
Total	8	2	3	13

• France women's national football team
• France national under-21 football team
• France national youth football team
• French Guiana national football team
• Guadeloupe national football team
• Martinique national football team
• New Caledonia national football team
• Réunion national football team
• Saint Martin national football team
• Tahiti national football team
• Ligue 1
• Football in France
• Sport in France

Wikimedia Commons has media related to France national association football team.

• Official website (in French and English)
• France at UEFA
• France at FIFA