document_title: France national football team

question_text: who is number 2 on the french world cup team

question_tokens: who is number 2 on the french world cup team

text: France national football team

text: History[edit]

text: 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.

text: 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 quarter-finals, losing 3–1 to defending champions Italy.

text: 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 were defeated 2–0 by the Czechoslovakians.

text: 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.

text: 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.

text: 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 were 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.

text: 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.

text: France failed to maintain that pace in subsequent tournaments. Although, the team won the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, France suffered a stunning goalless 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.

text: 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). 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.

text: 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.[7][8] 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.[9][10][11] 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".[12] France then lost their final game 2–1 to the hosts South Africa and failed to advance. 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.[13] Following the completion of the World Cup tournament, Federation President Jean-Pierre Escalettes resigned from his position.

text: Domenech, whose contract already 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.[14] On 6 August, five players who were deemed to have played a major role in the training boycott were disciplined for their roles.[15][16]

text: At Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, France reached the quarter-finals, where they were beaten by eventual champions Spain.[17][18] 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.[19][20] His team qualified for the 2014 World Cup by beating Ukraine in the playoffs, and Deschamps then extended his contract until Euro 2016.[21] Missing star midfielder Franck Ribéry through injury,[22] France lost to eventual champions Germany in the quarter-finals courtesy of an early goal by Mats Hummels.[23] Paul Pogba was awarded the Best Young Player award during the tournament.[24]

text: France automatically qualified as hosts for Euro 2016.[25] Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa were not in the squad.[26][27] France were drawn in Group A of the tournament alongside Romania, Switzerland and Albania.[28] 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.[29][30][31] 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.[32][33][34] France won the match 2–0, marking their first win over Germany at a major tournament since 1958.[35][36] 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.[37][38][39][40][41]

text: In 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying, France topped their group with 23 points; winning 7 wins, drawing 2 and losing once,[42] although their two draws were against considerably weaker nations, drawing 0–0 with Belarus in their opening match[43] and against Luxembourg, failing to secure a win against the latter since 1914, nearly 103 years.[44] 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.[45] France secured qualification to the World Cup finals with a 2–1 win over Belarus.[46] They were drawn to play Australia, Peru and Denmark in a group in which they were considered heavy favourites.[47][48] Overall, due to the strength and value of their squad, France were tipped by many as one of the favourites for the title.[49][50][51] 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.[52][53][54][55] 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.[56][57][58] On 15 July, France beat Croatia in the final with result 4–2 to win the World Cup for the second time.[59] 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.[60] Kylian Mbappé was awarded the Best Young Player award and Antoine Griezmann was awarded the Bronze Ball and the Silver Boot for their brilliant performance during the tournament.[61]

text: Home stadium[edit]

text: 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.

text: 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 Denis (Réunion). Both matches were friendlies.

text: 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.

text: 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.

text: 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.

text: Team image[edit]

text: Media coverage[edit]

text: The national team currently has a broadcasting agreement with TF1 Group, who control the country's main national TV channel, TF1. The current agreement was set to expire following the 2010 World Cup. On 18 December 2009, the Federal Council of the FFF agreed to extend its exclusive broadcasting agreement with the channel. The new deal grants the channel exclusive broadcast rights for the matches of national team, which include friendlies and international games for the next four seasons beginning in August 2010 and ending in June 2014. TF1 will also have extended rights, notably on the Internet, and may also broadcast images of the national team in its weekly program, Téléfoot.[62] The FFF will receive €45 million a season, a €10 million decrease from the €55 million they received from the previous agreement reached in 2006.[63]

text: Kits and crest[edit]

text: Wikimedia Commons has media related to France national football team kits.

text: The France national team utilizes a three colour system composed of blue, white and red. The team's three colours originate from the national flag of France, known as the tricolore. France have brandished the colors since their first official international match against Belgium in 1904. Since the team's inception, France normally wear blue shirts, white shorts and red socks at home (similar setup to Japan), while, when on the road, the team utilizes an all-white combination or wear red shirts, blue shorts, and blue socks with the former being the most current. Between 1909–1914, France wore a white shirt with blue stripes, white shorts, and red socks. In a 1978 World Cup match against Hungary in Mar del Plata, both teams arrived at Estadio José María Minella with white kits, so France played in green-and-white striped shirts borrowed from Club Atlético Kimberley.[64]

text: Beginning in 1966, France had its shirts made by Le Coq Sportif until 1971. In 1972, France reached an agreement with German sports apparel manufacturer Adidas to be the team's kit provider. Over the next 38 years, the two would maintain a healthy relationship with France winning Euro 1984, the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 while wearing Adidas' famous tricolour three stripes. During the 2006 World Cup, France wore an all-white change strip in all four of its knockout matches, including the final.[65] On 22 February 2008, the FFF announced that they were ending their partnership with Adidas and signing with Nike, effective 1 January 2011. The unprecedented deal was valued at €320 million over seven years (1 January 2011 – 9 July 2018), making France's blue shirt the most expensive ever in the history of football.[66][67]

text: The first France kit worn in a major tournament produced by Nike was the Euro 2012 strip, which was all dark blue and used gold as an accent colour.[68] In February 2013, Nike revealed an all baby blue change strip.

text: In advance of France's hosting of Euro 2016, Nike unveiled a new, unconventional kit set: blue shirts and shorts with red socks at home, white shirts and shorts and with blue socks away. The away shirt as worn in pre-Euro friendlies and released to the public also featured one blue sleeve and one red sleeve in reference to the "tricolore".  However, due to UEFA regulations, France was forced to wear a modified version with the sleeve colours almost desaturated in their Euro 2016 group stage game against Switzerland, which continued to be worn during 2018 World Cup qualifying.[69]

text: Kit suppliers[edit]

text:
Kit supplier

Period

Notes

 Le Coq Sportif

1966–1971

 Adidas

1972–2010

 Nike

2011–present

text: Kit deals[edit]

text:
Kit supplier

Period

Contract date

Contract duration

Value

Notes

 Nike

2011–present

22 February 2008

2011–2018 (8 years)

Total €340.8 million(€42.6 million per year)[70]

8 December 2016

2018–2026 (9 years)

Total €450 million(€50 million per year)[71]

text: Nickname[edit]

text: France is often referred to by the media and supporters as Les Bleus (The Blues), which is the nickname associated with all of France's international sporting teams due to the blue shirts each team incorporates. The team is also referred to as Les Tricolores or L'Equipe Tricolore (The Tri-color Team) due to the team's utilization of the country's national colors: blue, white, and red. During the 1980s, France earned the nickname the "Brazilians of Europe" mainly due to the accolades of the "carré magique" ("Magic Square"), who were anchored by Michel Platini. Led by coach Michel Hidalgo, France exhibited an inspiring, elegant, skillful and technically advanced offensive style of football, which was strikingly similar to their South American counterparts.[72]

text: Representation of multi-ethnic France[edit]

text: The France national team has long reflected the ethnic diversity of the country. Already in its first decades, there were in the France national team players that were considered of non-"genuinely" French origin, being descendants of immigrants of former colonies of the French Colonial Empire or of European countries neighboring France. The first black player to play in the national team was Raoul Diagne in 1931. Diagne was the son of the first African elected to the French National Assembly, Blaise Diagne. Seven years later, Diagne played on the 1938 FIFA World Cup team that featured Michel Brusseaux, the second footballer of North African descent to play for the national team (after Abdelkader Ben Bouali who was selected to play against Ireland in 1937). At the 1958 World Cup, in which France reached the semi-finals, many sons of immigrants (such as Raymond Kopa, Just Fontaine, Roger Piantoni, Maryan Wisnieski and Bernard Chiarelli) were integral to the team's success. The tradition has since continued, with successful French players such as Michel Platini, Jean Tigana, Manuel Amoros, Eric Cantona, Zinedine Zidane, Patrick Vieira, David Trezeguet, Claude Makélélé, Samir Nasri, Hatem Ben Arfa, Karim Benzema, and Kylian Mbappé all having either one or both of their parents foreign-born.

text: During the 1990s, the team was widely celebrated as an example of the modern multicultural French ideal.[73] The 1998 World Cup-winning team was celebrated and praised for inspiring pride and optimism about the prospects for the "French model" of social integration.[74] Of the 23 players on the team, the squad featured players who could trace their origins to Armenia, Algeria, Guadeloupe, New Caledonia, Argentina, Ghana, Senegal, Italy, French Guiana, Portugal and Martinique, with the patriarch of the team being Zinedine Zidane, who was born in Marseille to Algerian immigrants.

text: The multiracial makeup of the team has, at times, provoked controversy. In recent years, critics on the far right of the French political spectrum have taken issue with the proportional under-representation of ethnic white Frenchmen within the team. National Front politician Jean-Marie Le Pen protested in 1998 that the Black, Blanc, Beur team that won the World Cup did not look sufficiently French. In 2002, led by Ghanaian-born Marcel Desailly, the French team unanimously and publicly appealed to the French voting public to reject the presidential candidacy of Le Pen and, instead, return President Jacques Chirac to office. In 2006, Le Pen resumed his criticism charging that coach Raymond Domenech had selected too many black players.[75] In 2005, French-Jewish conservative writer Alain Finkielkraut caused controversy by punning to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that despite its earlier slogan, "the French national team is in fact black-black-black," and also adding that, "France is made fun of all around Europe because of that." He later apologized for the comments declaring that they were not meant to be offensive.[76]

text: The socio-ethnic divide between the public and the team reached a climax during the 2010 World Cup. Once in South Africa, the team did not manage to score a goal in their first two matches, leaving almost no chance of going through save an exceptional win over hosts South Africa. Thereafter, the players went on strike because of what they saw as mismanagement of the Nicolas Anelka case. Anelka had been forced to depart after a slur that leaked to the press. Players said he was misquoted, and complained of the alleged leaker from the staff, the media, and the federation. Instead of training, coach Raymond Domenech read the players' petition live on television to the stunned journalists. Some Sarkozy-Fillon government members described the mutiny as banlieue behaviour, and the players as racaille, words which have clear ethnic connotations.

text: The national team's overall impact on France's efforts to integrate its minorities and come to terms with its colonial past has been mixed. In 2001, France played a friendly match at the Stade de France, the site of its 1998 World Cup triumph, against Algeria. It was the country's first meeting with its former colony, with whom it had fought a war from 1954 to 1962, and it proved controversial. France's national anthem, La Marseillaise, was booed by Algerian supporters before the game, and following a French goal that made the score 4–1 in the second half, spectators ran onto the field of play, which caused play to be suspended. It was never resumed.

text: In April 2011, the French investigative website Mediapart released a story which claimed that the FFF had been attempting to secretly put in place a quota system in order to limit the number of dual-citizenship players in its national academies. Quoting a senior figure in the FFF, the organization was said to have wanted to set a cap of 30% on the number of players of dual-nationality by limiting places in the academies in the 12–13 age bracket.[77] The FFF responded by releasing a public statement on its website denying the report, stating, "[N]one of its elected bodies has been validated, or even contemplated a policy of quotas for the recruitment of its training centers."[78] The FFF also announced that it had authorized a full investigation into the matter and, as a result, suspended National Technical Director François Blaquart pending the outcome of the investigation.[79] Former national team player Lilian Thuram said of the allegations, "Initially I thought this was a joke. I'm so stunned I don't know what to say," while Patrick Vieira declared that comments allegedly made by manager Laurent Blanc at the meeting were "serious and scandalous". The French government also weighed in on the issue, as then President Nicolas Sarkozy was quoted as being "viscerally opposed to any form of quota", while adding "setting quotas would be the end of the Republic". Following the investigation, Blanc was cleared of any wrongdoing.

text: Coaching staff[edit]

text:
Position

Name

Manager

 Didier Deschamps

Assistant manager

 Guy Stéphan

Goalkeeper coach

 Franck Raviot

Trainer

 Grégory Dupont

Doctor

 Franck Le Gall

text: Players[edit]

text: Current squad[edit]

text:
The following players were called up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and preceding warm-up matches.[81][82]
Caps and goals as of 15 July 2018 after the match against Croatia.

text:
No.

Pos.

Player

Date of birth (age)

Caps

Goals

Club

1

1GK

Hugo Lloris (Captain)

 (1986-12-26) 26 December 1986 (age 31)

104

0

 Tottenham Hotspur

16

1GK

Steve Mandanda

 (1985-03-28) 28 March 1985 (age 33)

28

0

 Marseille

23

1GK

Alphonse Areola

 (1993-02-27) 27 February 1993 (age 25)

0

0

 Paris Saint-Germain

2

2DF

Benjamin Pavard

 (1996-03-28) 28 March 1996 (age 22)

12

1

 VfB Stuttgart

3

2DF

Presnel Kimpembe

 (1995-08-13) 13 August 1995 (age 22)

3

0

 Paris Saint-Germain

4

2DF

Raphaël Varane

 (1993-04-25) 25 April 1993 (age 25)

49

3

 Real Madrid

5

2DF

Samuel Umtiti

 (1993-11-14) 14 November 1993 (age 24)

25

3

 Barcelona

17

2DF

Adil Rami RET

 (1985-12-27) 27 December 1985 (age 32)

35

1

 Marseille

19

2DF

Djibril Sidibé

 (1992-07-29) 29 July 1992 (age 26)

18

1

 Monaco

21

2DF

Lucas Hernández

 (1996-02-14) 14 February 1996 (age 22)

12

0

 Atlético Madrid

22

2DF

Benjamin Mendy

 (1994-07-17) 17 July 1994 (age 24)

8

0

 Manchester City

6

3MF

Paul Pogba

 (1993-03-15) 15 March 1993 (age 25)

60

10

 Manchester United

12

3MF

Corentin Tolisso

 (1994-08-03) 3 August 1994 (age 24)

14

0

 Bayern Munich

13

3MF

N'Golo Kanté

 (1991-03-29) 29 March 1991 (age 27)

31

1

 Chelsea

14

3MF

Blaise Matuidi

 (1987-04-09) 9 April 1987 (age 31)

72

9

 Juventus

15

3MF

Steven Nzonzi

 (1988-12-15) 15 December 1988 (age 29)

9

0

 Sevilla

7

4FW

Antoine Griezmann

 (1991-03-21) 21 March 1991 (age 27)

61

24

 Atlético Madrid

8

4FW

Thomas Lemar

 (1995-11-12) 12 November 1995 (age 22)

13

3

 Atlético Madrid

9

4FW

Olivier Giroud

 (1986-09-30) 30 September 1986 (age 31)

81

31

 Chelsea

10

4FW

Kylian Mbappé

 (1998-12-20) 20 December 1998 (age 19)

22

8

 Paris Saint-Germain

11

4FW

Ousmane Dembélé

 (1997-05-15) 15 May 1997 (age 21)

16

2

 Barcelona

18

4FW

Nabil Fekir

 (1993-07-18) 18 July 1993 (age 25)

18

2

 Lyon

20

4FW

Florian Thauvin

 (1993-01-26) 26 January 1993 (age 25)

5

0

 Marseille

text: Recent call-ups[edit]

text: The following players have been called up for France squad within the past 12 months.

text:
Pos.

Player

Date of birth (age)

Caps

Goals

Club

Latest call-up

GK

Benoît Costil

 (1987-07-03) 3 July 1987 (age 31)

1

0

 Bordeaux

2018 FIFA World Cup PRE

DF

Mamadou Sakho

 (1990-07-13) 13 July 1990 (age 28)

28

2

 Crystal Palace

2018 FIFA World Cup PRE

DF

Mathieu Debuchy

 (1985-07-28) 28 July 1985 (age 33)

27

2

 Saint-Étienne

2018 FIFA World Cup PRE

DF

Lucas Digne

 (1993-07-20) 20 July 1993 (age 25)

21

0

 Everton

2018 FIFA World Cup PRE

DF

Kurt Zouma

 (1994-10-27) 27 October 1994 (age 23)

2

0

 Everton

2018 FIFA World Cup PRE

DF

Laurent Koscielny RET

 (1985-09-10) 10 September 1985 (age 32)

51

1

 Arsenal

v.  Russia, 27 March 2018 INJ

DF

Christophe Jallet

 (1983-10-31) 31 October 1983 (age 34)

16

1

 Nice

v.  Germany, 14 November 2017

DF

Layvin Kurzawa

 (1992-09-04) 4 September 1992 (age 25)

11

1

 Paris Saint-Germain

v.  Germany, 14 November 2017

DF

Jordan Amavi

 (1994-03-09) 9 March 1994 (age 24)

0

0

 Marseille

v.  Belarus, 10 October 2017

MF

Moussa Sissoko

 (1989-08-16) 16 August 1989 (age 28)

53

2

 Tottenham Hotspur

2018 FIFA World Cup PRE

MF

Adrien Rabiot

 (1995-04-03) 3 April 1995 (age 23)

6

0

 Paris Saint-Germain

2018 FIFA World Cup PRE / WTD

FW

Anthony Martial

 (1995-12-05) 5 December 1995 (age 22)

18

1

 Manchester United

2018 FIFA World Cup PRE

FW

Alexandre Lacazette

 (1991-05-28) 28 May 1991 (age 27)

16

3

 Arsenal

2018 FIFA World Cup PRE

FW

Kingsley Coman

 (1996-06-13) 13 June 1996 (age 22)

15

1

 Bayern Munich

2018 FIFA World Cup PRE

FW

Wissam Ben Yedder

 (1990-08-12) 12 August 1990 (age 28)

1

0

 Sevilla

2018 FIFA World Cup PRE

FW

Dimitri Payet

 (1987-03-29) 29 March 1987 (age 31)

37

8

 Marseille

v.  Belarus, 10 October 2017 INJ

text:
INJ Withdrew due to injury
PRE Preliminary squad / standby
RET Retired from international football
SUS Suspended from national team
WTD Withdrew due to other reasons

text: Results and fixtures[edit]

text:
31 August 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup Q

France

4–0

 Netherlands

showSaint-Denis, France

20:45(20:45 UTC+2)

Griezmann  14'Lemar  73', 88'Mbappé  90+1'

Report (FIFA)Report (UEFA)

Stadium: Stade de France Attendance: 79,551Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)

text:
3 September 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup Q

France

0–0

 Luxembourg

showToulouse, France

Report (FIFA)Report (UEFA)

Stadium: Stadium Municipal Attendance: 31,177Referee: Aleksandar Stavrev (Macedonia)

text:
7 October 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup Q

Bulgaria

0–1

 France

showSofia, Bulgaria

Report (FIFA)Report (UEFA)

Matuidi  3'

Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium Attendance: 12,921Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

text:
10 October 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup Q

France

2–1

 Belarus

showSaint-Denis, France

Griezmann  27'  Giroud  33'

Report (FIFA)Report (UEFA)

Saroka  44'

Stadium: Stade de France Attendance: 74,037Referee: Halis Özkahya (Turkey)

text:
10 November 2017 Friendly

France

2–0

 Wales

showSaint-Denis, France

Griezmann  18'  Giroud  71'

Report

Stadium: Stade de France Attendance: 60,000Referee: Jorge Sousa (Portugal)

text:
14 November 2017 Friendly

Germany

2–2

 France

showCologne, Germany

Werner  56'  Stindl  90+3'

Report

Lacazette  33', 71'

Stadium: RheinEnergieStadion Attendance: 36,948Referee: Cüneyt Çakir (Turkey)

text:
23 March 2018 Friendly

France

2–3

 Colombia

showSaint-Denis, France

Giroud  11'
Lemar  26'

Report

Muriel  28'
Falcao  62'
Quintero  85' (pen.)

Stadium: Stade de France Attendance: 80,000Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (Switzerland)

text:
27 March 2018 Friendly

Russia

1–3

 France

showSaint Petersburg, Russia

Smolov  68'

Report

Mbappé  40', 83'
Pogba  49'

Stadium: Krestovsky Stadium Attendance: 68,000Referee: Gediminas Mažeika (Lithuania)

text:
28 May 2018 Friendly

France

2–0

 Republic of Ireland

showSaint-Denis, France

Giroud  40'
Fekir  44'

Report

Stadium: Stade de France Attendance: 70,000Referee: Georgi Kabakov (Bulgaria)

text:
1 June 2018 Friendly

France

3–1

 Italy

showNice, France

Umtiti  8'
Griezmann  29' (pen.)
Dembélé  63'

Report

Bonucci  35'

Stadium: Allianz Riviera Attendance: 34,500Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)

text:
9 June 2018 Friendly

France

1–1

 United States

showDécines-Charpieu, France

Mbappé  78'

Report

Green  44'

Stadium: Groupama Stadium Attendance: 58,241Referee: Willie Collum (Scotland)

text:
16 June 2018 2018 FIFA World Cup GS

France

2–1

 Australia

showKazan, Russia

13:00 MSK (UTC+3)

Griezmann  58' (pen.)
Behich  81' (o.g.)

Report

Jedinak  62' (pen.)

Stadium: Kazan Arena Attendance: 41,279Referee: Andrés Cunha (Uruguay)

text:
21 June 2018 2018 FIFA World Cup GS

France

1–0

 Peru

showYekaterinburg, Russia

20:00 YEKT (UTC+5)

Mbappé  34'

Report

Stadium: Central Stadium Attendance: 32,789Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)

text:
26 June 2018 2018 FIFA World Cup GS

Denmark

0–0

 France

showMoscow, Russia

17:00 MSK (UTC+3)

Report

Stadium: Luzhniki Stadium Attendance: 78,011Referee: Sandro Ricci (Brazil)

text:
30 June 2018 2018 FIFA World Cup R16

France

4–3

 Argentina

showKazan, Russia

17:00 MSK (UTC+3)

Griezmann  13' (pen.)
Pavard  57'
Mbappé  64', 68'

Report

Di María  41'
Mercado  48'
Agüero  90+3'

Stadium: Kazan Arena Attendance: 42,873Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)

text:
6 July 2018 2018 FIFA World Cup QF

Uruguay

0–2

 France

showNizhny Novgorod, Russia

17:00 MSK (UTC+3)

Report

Varane  40'
Griezmann  61'

Stadium: Nizhny Novgorod Stadium Attendance: 43,319Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)

text:
10 July 2018 2018 FIFA World Cup SF

France

1–0

 Belgium

showSaint Petersburg, Russia

21:00 MSK (UTC+3)

Umtiti  51'

Report

Stadium: Krestovsky Stadium Attendance: 64,286Referee: Andrés Cunha (Uruguay)

text:
15 July 2018 2018 FIFA World Cup Final

France

4–2

 Croatia

showMoscow, Russia

18:00 MSK (UTC+3)

Mandžukić  18' (o.g.)
Griezmann  38' (pen.)
Pogba  59'
Mbappé  65'

Report

Perišić  28'
Mandžukić  69'

Stadium: Luzhniki Stadium Attendance: 78,011Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)

text:
6 September 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League

Germany

v

 France

showMunich, Germany

20:45 CEST (UTC+2)

Stadium: Allianz Arena

text:
9 September 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League

France

v

 Netherlands

showSaint-Denis, France

20:45 CEST (UTC+2)

Stadium: Stade de France

text:
16 October 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League

France

v

 Germany

showSaint-Denis, France

20:45 CEST (UTC+2)

Stadium: Stade de France

text:
16 November 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League

Netherlands

v

 France

showRotterdam, Netherlands

20:45 CET (UTC+1)

Stadium: De Kuip

text: Competitive record[edit]

text: FIFA World Cup record[edit]

text: France was one of the four European teams that participated at the inaugural World Cup in 1930 and have appeared in 14 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.

text: 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.[83][84]

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

text: In 2018, France defeated Croatia 4–2 in the final match and won the World Cup for the second time.[85]

text:
FIFA World Cup finals record

Qualifications record

Year

Round

Position

GP

W

D*

L

GF

GA

Squad

GP

W

D

L

GF

GA

 1930
Group stage
7th
3
1
0
2
4
3
Squad

—

 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
Originally did not qualify, then invited, later withdrew

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
To be determined

To be determined
2022

Total
15/21
2 Titles
65
33
13*
19
120
77
N/A
111
65
23
23
216
88
Total

text: UEFA European Championship record[edit]

text: 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.

text:
UEFA European Championship record

Qualification record

Year

Result

Position

Pld

W

D*

L

GF

GA

Pld

W

D*

L

GF

GA

 1960

Fourth place

4th

2

0

0

2

4

7

4

3

1

0

17

6

 1964

Did not qualify
6
2
1
3
11
10

 1968
8
4
2
2
16
12

 1972
6
3
1
2
10
8

 1976
6
1
3
2
7
6

 1980
8
4
1
1
13
7

 1984

Champions

1st

5

5

0

0

14

4

Qualified as hosts

 1988

Did not qualify
8
1
4
3
4
7

 1992

Group stage

6th

3

0

2

1

2

3

8

8

0

0

20

6

 1996

Semi-finals

4th

5

2

3

0

5

2

10

5

5

0

22

2

  2000

Champions

1st

6

5

0

1

13

7

10

6

3

1

17

10

 2004

Quarter-finals

6th

4

2

1

1

7

5

8

8

0

0

29

2

  2008

Group stage

15th

3

0

1

2

1

6

12

8

2

2

25

5

  2012

Quarter-finals

8th

4

1

1

2

3

5

10

6

3

1

15

4

 2016

Runners-up

2nd

7

5

1

1

13

5

Qualified as hosts

 2020

To be determined

To be determined

Total

2 Titles

9/15

39

20

9

10

62

44

102

59

26

17

206

85

text: FIFA Confederations Cup record[edit]

text: 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.

text:
FIFA Confederations Cup record

Year

Round

Position

GP

W

D*

L

GS

GA

 1992

Did not qualify

 1995

 1997

 1999

Did not enter[86]

  2001

Champions

1st

5

4

0

1

12

2

 2003

Champions

1st

5

5

0

0

12

3

 2005

Did not qualify

 2009

 2013

 2017

2021

Qualified

Total

2 Titles

2/10

10

9

0

1

24

5

text: Minor tournaments[edit]

text:
Year

Round

Position

GP

W

D*

L

GS

GA

 1904 Évence Coppée Trophy
Co-Winners
1st
1
0
1
0
3
3

 1972 Brazilian Independence Cup
Group stage
8th
4
3
1
0
10
2

 1985 Artemio Franchi Trophy
Winners
—
1
1
0
0
2
0

 1988 Tournoi de France
Winners
1st
2
2
0
0
4
2

 1990 Kuwait Tournament
Winners
1st
2
2
0
0
4
0

 1994 Kirin Cup
Winners
1st
2
2
0
0
5
1

 1997 Tournoi de France
Round robin
3rd
3
0
2
1
3
4

 1998 King Hassan II International Cup Tournament
Winners
1st
2
1
1
0
3
2

 2000 King Hassan II International Cup Tournament
Winners
1st
2
1
1
0
7
3

 2000 Nelson Mandela Inauguration Challenge Cup
Co-Winners
—
1
0
1
0
0
0

Total

8 Titles
20
12
7
1
41
17

text: Mediterranean Games record[edit]

text: France B

text:
Football at the Mediterranean Games

Year

Round

GP

W

D

L

GS

GA

 1951
-
0
0
0
0
0
0

 1955
2
3
2
1
0
6
2

 1959
-
0
0
0
0
0
0

 1963
-
0
0
0
0
0
0

 1967
1
5
3
1
1
9
5

 1971
5
4
2
0
2
5
4

1975
2
6
3
1
2
10
6

 1979
2
5
2
2
1
6
7

 1983
4
4
1
2
1
1
1

 1987
2
5
3
1
1
7
2

1991 – present

See France national under-20 team

Total
7/10
32
16
8
8
44
27

text: Honours[edit]

text: FIFA World Cup

text:
Winners: 1998, 2018
Runner-up: 2006
Third-place: 1958, 1986
Fourth-place: 1982

text: UEFA European Championship

text:
Winners: 1984, 2000
Runner-up: 2016
Fourth-place: 1960
Semi-finals: 1996

text: FIFA Confederations Cup

text: Winners: 2001, 2003

text: Olympic football tournament

text:
Gold Medal: 1984
Silver Medal: 1900
Semi-finals: 1908, 1920

text:
Competition

Total

World Cup

2
1
2
5

European Championship

2
1
0
3

Confederations Cup

2
0
0
2

Olympic Games

1
1
0
2

Total
7
3
2
12

text: Minor titles[edit]

text: Évence Coppée Trophy

text: Winners: 1904 (shared with Belgium)

text: Artemio Franchi Trophy

text: Winners: 1985

text: Statistics[edit]

text: Most capped players[edit]

text:
#

Name

Career

Caps

Goals

1

Lilian Thuram

1994–2008

142

2

2

Thierry Henry

1997–2010

123

51

3

Marcel Desailly

1993–2004

116

3

4

Zinedine Zidane

1994–2006

108

31

5

Patrick Vieira

1997–2009

107

6

6

Hugo Lloris

2008–present

104

0

7

Didier Deschamps

1989–2000

103

4

8

Laurent Blanc

1989–2000

97

16

Bixente Lizarazu

1992–2004

97

2

10

Sylvain Wiltord

1999–2006

92

26

text: Last updated: 15 July 2018Source: French Football Federation

text: Top goalscorers[edit]

text:
#

Player

Career

Goals

Caps

Average

1

Thierry Henry (list)

1997–2010

51

123

0.41

2

Michel Platini

1976–1987

41

72

0.57

3

David Trezeguet

1998–2008

34

71

0.48

4

Olivier Giroud

2011–present

31

81

0.38

Zinedine Zidane (list)

1994–2006

31

108

0.29

6

Just Fontaine

1953–1960

30

21

1.43

Jean-Pierre Papin

1986–1995

30

54

0.56

8

Youri Djorkaeff

1993–2002

28

82

0.34

9

Karim Benzema

2007–present

27

81

0.33

10

Sylvain Wiltord

1999–2006

26

92

0.28

text: Last updated: 10 July 2018Source: French Football Federation

text: Managers[edit]

text:
Manager

France career

Games

Won

Drawn

Lost

Win %

 Henri Guérin

1964–1966

7001150000000000000♠15

7000500000000000000♠5

7000400000000000000♠4

7000600000000000000♠6

07001333009999900000♠33.3

 José Arribas Jean Snella

1966

7000400000000000000♠4

7000200000000000000♠2

5000000000000000000♠0

7000200000000000000♠2

07001500000000000000♠50.0

 Just Fontaine

1967

7000200000000000000♠2

5000000000000000000♠0

5000000000000000000♠0

7000200000000000000♠2

005000000000000000000♠0.0

 Louis Dugauguez

1967–1968

7000900000000000000♠9

7000200000000000000♠2

7000300000000000000♠3

7000400000000000000♠4

07001222000000000000♠22.2

 Georges Boulogne

1969–1973

7001310000000000000♠31

7001150000000000000♠15

7000500000000000000♠5

7001110000000000000♠11

07001484000000000000♠48.4

 István Kovács

1973–1975

7001150000000000000♠15

7000600000000000000♠6

7000400000000000000♠4

7000500000000000000♠5

07001400000000000000♠40.0

 Michel Hidalgo

1976–1984

7001750000000000000♠75

7001410000000000000♠41

7001160000000000000♠16

7001180000000000000♠18

07001547000000000000♠54.7

 Henri Michel

1984–1988

7001360000000000000♠36

7001160000000000000♠16

7001120000000000000♠12

7000800000000000000♠8

07001444000000000000♠44.4

 Michel Platini

1988–1992

7001290000000000000♠29

7001160000000000000♠16

7000800000000000000♠8

7000500000000000000♠5

07001552000000000000♠55.2

 Gérard Houllier

1992–1993

7001120000000000000♠12

7000700000000000000♠7

7000100000000000000♠1

7000400000000000000♠4

07001583000000000000♠58.3

 Aimé Jacquet

1993–1998

7001530000000000000♠53

7001340000000000000♠34

7001160000000000000♠16

7000300000000000000♠3

07001642000000000000♠64.2

 Roger Lemerre

1998–2002

7001530000000000000♠53

7001340000000000000♠34

7001110000000000000♠11

7000800000000000000♠8

07001642000000000000♠64.2

 Jacques Santini

2002–2004

7001280000000000000♠28

7001220000000000000♠22

7000400000000000000♠4

7000200000000000000♠2

07001786009999900000♠78.6

 Raymond Domenech

2004–2010

7001790000000000000♠79

7001410000000000000♠41

7001240000000000000♠24

7001140000000000000♠14

07001519000000000000♠51.9

 Laurent Blanc

2010–2012

7001270000000000000♠27

7001160000000000000♠16

7000700000000000000♠7

7000400000000000000♠4

07001593000000000000♠59.3

 Didier Deschamps

2012–present

7001830000000000000♠83

7001530000000000000♠53

7001150000000000000♠15

7001150000000000000♠15

07001639000000000000♠63.9