France national football team
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| Nickname(s) | Les Bleus (The Blues) Les Tricolores (The Tricolours) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Association | Fédération Française de Football |
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| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach |  Raymond Domenech |
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| Captain | Thierry Henry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Most caps | Lilian Thuram (142) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top scorer | Thierry Henry (46) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home stadium | Stade de France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIFA code | FRA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIFA ranking | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 1 (May 2001-May 2002) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 25 (April 1998) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elo ranking | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest Elo ranking | 1 (December 1984-April 1985 August 1985 February-June 1986 July 1998-March 1999 June 2000-May 2002 September 2003-August 2004 August 2006-October 2006 February 2007 June 2007-July 2007) |
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| Lowest Elo ranking | 44 (May 1928 February 1930) |
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| First international | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg){kind=small} Belgium 3 - 3 France (Brussels, Belgium; 1 May 1904) |
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| Biggest win | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
France 10 - 0 Azerbaijan  (Auxerre, France; 6 September 1995) |
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| Biggest defeat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Denmark 17 - 1 France (London, England; 22 October 1908) |
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| World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 12 (First in 1930) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Winners, 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| European Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 7 (First in 1960) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Winners, 1984 and 2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Confederations Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 2 (First in 2001) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Winners, 2001 and 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Football | |||
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| Silver | 1900 Paris | Team | |
| Gold | 1984 Los Angeles | Team | |
The French national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation and competes as a member of UEFA.
France was one of the four European teams that participated at the inaugural World Cup in 1930. In the 1980s, led by midfielder and captain Michel Platini, the team reached semi-finals at both the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, and won the 1984 European Championship.
France then reached an even higher status in international football by being especially successful at the end of the 1990s and in the 2000s; they won the World Cup as the host nation in 1998, and the European Football Championship two years later, while also placing second at the 2006 World Cup tournament. Midfielder Zinédine Zidane was particularly instrumental in achieving those honours.
France and Argentina are the only national teams which have won the three most important men's titles organized by FIFA: the World Cup, the Confederations Cup, and the Olympic Tournament.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early years
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (March 2008) |
France's first ever game was a 3-3 draw against Belgium in 1904.
They played in all three of the pre-World War II World Cups. Lucien Laurent scored the first ever World cup goal in 1930, in a 4-1 win over Mexico. They reached the quarterfinals in 1938 when they hosted the World Cup.
France came third in the 1958 FIFA World Cup, defeating Germany 6-3 for the bronze. France was beaten by Brazil in semi-finals, after central defender Robert Jonquet's injury and Pelé hat-trick. Striker Just Fontaine scored a record 13 goals in the tournament, doing so in just six matches. The team used mainly players and former players from Stade de Reims, such as Raymond Kopa, Robert Jonquet,Roger Marche or Just Fontaine, who was at the time one of the best teams in European football.
[edit] Platini era
During the captaincy of Michel Platini France's World Cup performance markedly improved, finishing fourth in Spain '82, and third in Mexico '86. In both tournaments, they lost in the semi-finals to West Germany. The 1982 semi-final is unfortunately remembered by many for West German keeper Harald Schumacher's elbowing of France's Patrick Battiston in the face as the latter made a shot on goal. Despite severely injuring Battiston, Schumacher was not penalized. This was the turning point of the match: after leading 3-1, les bleus were eliminated in the penalty-kicks, after FC Nantes' defender Maxime Bossis saw his shot stopped by Schumacher.[1] France were also knocked out in the semi-final 1986, again by West Germany. However, with Platini as skipper, France, as host nation, won Euro '84, as well as capturing Olympic gold in Los Angeles the same year.
[edit] Zidane era
France's most successful years were the late 1990s, the generation of Zinédine Zidane . This team started off well by reaching the semi-finals of Euro 96. After Euro 96, coach Aimé Jacquet adopted a very defensive strategy and made fans anxious because his team never seemed to develop a definitive offensive tactic. The press began to attack the team manager, calling his methods "Paleolithic" and claiming that the team had no hope for the upcoming World Cup which would be hosted in their home country. In June 1997 at the Tournoi de France, cries of "Resign!" could be heard from the stadium as the French team came in under Brazil, England and Italy. The media's distrust of Jacquet reached fever pitch in May 1998 when, instead of a list of 22 players meant to play in the World Cup, Jacquet gave a list of 28 players, causing the sports daily L'Équipe to write an editoral arguing that Jacquet was not the right man to lead the French team to victory.
[edit] Euro 2000
Jacquet stepped down after France's World Cup triumph and was succeeded by assistant Roger Lemerre who guided them through Euro 2000. Zidane cemented his FIFA World Player of the Year form, scoring a direct free kick in the quarter-final against Spain and a golden goal penalty in the semi-final against Portugal.
In the finals, France defeated Italy 2-1 in a come from behind victory. David Trézéguet scored the golden goal in extra time after an equalizing goal from Wiltord in the 5th minute of stoppage time. This gave them 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[1]. France held the top position in the FIFA World Rankings system from 2001-2002.
[edit] 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004
France failed to maintain that pace in subsequent tournaments. They suffered a stunning goaless first round elimination in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, possibly due in part to an injury to key playmaker Zidane. One of the greatest shocks in World Cup history condemned France to a 0-1 defeat to debutante Senegal in the opening game of the tournament. After France finished bottom of the group - only securing one point, conceding three goals and without scoring any - Lemerre was dismissed.
A full strength team started out strongly in Euro 2004, with Zidane scoring a free kick and a penalty to overcome a 0-1 deficit and defeat England in the group stage, but they were upset in the quarter-finals by the eventual winners, Greece. Jacques Santini resigned as coach and Raymond Domenech was picked as his replacement.
[edit] 2006 World Cup
France struggled in the qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, managing only 0-0 draws with Israel, Ireland, and Switzerland. This prompted Domenech to persuade "golden generation" members Claude Makélélé, Lilian Thuram and Zinédine Zidane out of international retirement to help the national team qualify. This was France's first successful World Cup qualification since 1986 (France received automatic berths in 1998 and 2002, as hosts and defending champions, respectively).
The team was greeted with modest expectations as it entered the World Cup tournament, with many arguing that despite the return of the three stars, its squad was too old to be competitive. They had a slow start in the group stage and were in danger of being eliminated after managing only 0-0 and 1-1 draws against Switzerland and South Korea, respectively. Though Zidane was forced to sit out because of accumulated bookings, France found their form and won their final group match, beating Togo 2-0 to advance to the knockout round. There, Zidane would score or assist in every game of the playoffs and his team upset heavily favoured Spain 3-1 in a come-from-behind victory to advance to the quarter-finals.
France eliminated defending champions Brazil 1-0 to advance into the cup semi-finals. Despite the score, France had thoroughly outplayed Brazil in the match, only facing one shot on goal, while Zidane created numerous scoring chances with his dribbles past Brazilian defenders and his free-kick to Thierry Henry resulting in the winning goal. The game made France the first team to have shut out the five-time champions in consecutive matches; Fabien Barthez was the keeper in both matches. Les Bleus now have a 2-1-1 all-time record against Brazil in World Cup finals play, having shut the Seleção out in the last three meetings (the 1986 match was decided 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw).
France emerged from the semi-finals winning 1-0 over Portugal. Henry was tripped inside the box and a penalty was awarded, which Zidane scored and it stood as the winning goal, as defender Lilian Thuram neutralized offensive threats from Portuguese stars Pauleta and Cristiano Ronaldo. At home, when news came of France's victory, there were mass celebrations at the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe. Zidane the headbutted the opposing Italien Player.
France took on Italy in the final, but the teams were level at 1-1 at the end of normal time. With extra-time failing to produce a victor, penalty kicks were required to settle the match. Italy won the shoot-out 5-3 to be crowned 2006 World Champions. The tournament's Golden Ball Winner Zinédine Zidane (playing his last professional match) scored the opening goal of the final (becoming only the fourth player to score in two World Cup final games), but his accomplishments in the finals were marred by his sending off (becoming only the fourth player to be sent off in a world cup final) for violent conduct when he headbutted Marco Materazzi with only ten minutes until extra-time.
[edit] Euro 2008 Qualifiers
France started its qualifying round for Euro 2008 on September 2, 2006 by beating Georgia in Tbilisi 3-0.The goal scorers for this match were Malouda, Louis Saha and Malkhaz Asatiani (own goal). They then took on world champions Italy 3-1 in Paris on September 6, 2006 with Sidney Govou striking twice along with Henry, but suffered an upset when beaten 1-0 by Scotland on October 7, 2006, their first European Championship qualifying defeat since they lost 3-2 to Russia on June 5, 1999. On October 11, 2006, France defeated Faroe Islands by 5-0. All the French strikers that played in the match scored. Goals came from Louis Saha, Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka and 2 goals from the Juventus striker David Trézéguet. France beat Lithuania 1-0 on March 24, 2007 with Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka rescuing an injury hit French side by shooting a wonderful long range effort.The injuries suffered by France were Louis Saha, Thierry Henry, Franck Ribéry, Patrick Vieira and David Trézéguet. France took on Ukraine on June 2, 2007 in Paris. Both teams were hit by injuries with France missing Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry while Ukraine missed their world-class striker Andriy Shevchenko. The game ended in a 2-0 victory for France with second-half strikes from Franck Ribéry and Nicolas Anelka, who scored his third goal in three matches. Then on June 6, 2007 France defeated Georgia in Auxerre by 1-0, with Samir Nasri scoring his first senior international goal. On September 8, 2007, in a much-anticipated rematch, France and Italy played to a 0-0 draw at the San Siro in Milan. Once again though, on September 12, 2007, France fell to Scotland and were defeated 1-0 after Landreau was caught off guard with a strike from Scotland's James McFadden adding another loss, but this time at the Parc des Princes in Paris. On October 12, 2007, their match with the Faroe Islands, was threatened with postponement after bad weather kept their plane from landing in the Faroe Islands; they had to spend the night in Norway. The next day, however, on 13 October 2007, the match went ahead as planned, albeit around 30 minutes after scheduled kick-off time with France taking just 8 minutes to open up a 2-0 lead; the match eventually finished 6-0 with strikes from Nicolas Anelka, Thierry Henry, and 2 goals from Karim Benzema just before half time. In the second half Jérôme Rothen and Hatem Ben Arfa completed the rout. With Italy's victory over Scotland on November 17, 2007, France only just, by 2 points over Scotland, qualified for Euro 2008.
[edit] Euro 2008
Despite high expectations from followers of Les Bleus, the squad made a stuttering start to the 2008 European Championships, drawing 0-0 to Romania in Zurich and then finishing on the receiving end of a 4-1 mauling at the hands of the Netherlands in Berne. For the final group game, Domenech dropped Thuram and replaced him with Abidal. This proved to be a bad decision as Abidal looked out of his depth in the centre of defence and subsequently was sent off for a rash challenge on Luca Toni. France continued to play poorly and when they lost 2-0 to Italy, they came last of their group and failed to get to the quarterfinals.
France's performance at Euro 2008 effectively marked the end of its golden era stemming back to the team's World Cup win on home soil in 1998, which was followed by their triumph at Euro 2000 two years later in the Netherlands and Belgium. Only three players from those successful teams were selected in the final squad for Euro 2008 by French coach Raymond Domenech, with only Thierry Henry and Lilian Thuram earning game time, though their effectiveness and performances were soundly criticised by French football media. The remaining player and despite initially being named as the squad captain, Patrick Vieira, was unable to take the field in any of France's Euro 2008 matches due to a thigh injury. The team felt the loss of Zidane. The primary reason for France's failure is the average age of the players with many talented, but over-30 members in the squad. The team's early exit from the tournament signalled the international retirements of Lilian Thuram, and Claude Makélélé, with Willy Sagnol also announcing that he would take time to contemplate his international future.
Despite possessing one of the most talented squads at Euro 2008, France's efforts were comparable to their disastrous 2002 World Cup campaign where they were also eliminated in the first round without winning a game. France bettered their efforts from 2002 by scoring a solitary goal in this tournament compared to their goalless campaign six years prior.
In the aftermath of the tournament, calls have been made for the sacking of Raymond Domenech, with World Cup and Euro 2000 winning captain, Didier Deschamps, being sounded out as a suitable replacement. However, on July 3rd, at a French Football Federation high level meeting in Paris, Domenech has survived the sack with the French Football Federation announcing that he had kept his job as manager despite France's poor showing at Euro 2008.
[edit] 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
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France's campaign for 2010 World Cup qualification got off to a disappointing start with a 1-3 defeat at the hands of Austria in Vienna on September 6 2008. Speculation followed regarding the future of Raymond Domenech as team coach before a goal each from Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka saw France to a 2-1 home victory over Serbia on September 10.
[edit] Representing multicultural France
When it comes to racial equality the French national team is seen as being one of the most progressive footballing teams in the world. They have introduced more and more black players to the team; there is a growing movement to stamp racism out of football. The French have led the way by selecting players based on ability not due to country of origin or race. On the 2006 French national team, 17 of the 23 players were members of racial minorities, including many of the most prominent players. The team featured players from the overseas departments and players who are themselves immigrants or the children of immigrants from former French colonial territories. Zinédine Zidane is the child of an immigrant couple from Algeria; of the current squad Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri are of French Algerian origin. Vikash Dhorasoo — the first French player of Indian origin - played in the 2006 World Cup. Meanwhile, several players are of African or West Indian origin. Patrick Vieira immigrated as a child from Senegal, Bafétimbi Gomis has dual French-Senegalese nationality, and Claude Makélélé did likewise from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lilian Thuram is from France's overseas department of Guadeloupe. Thierry Henry is the son of parents born in Guadeloupe and Martinique, while Louis Saha, Sylvain Wiltord, and Pascal Chimbonda all have parents who hail from Guadeloupe. Finally, Florent Malouda was born in French Guiana.
The French national football team has long reflected the ethnic diversity of the country. The first black player playing in the national team was Raoul Diagne in 1931, the son of the first black African elected to the French National Assembly, Blaise Diagne. In the 1950s, the first French national team reaching international success with a semi-final at the World Cup 1958 already included many sons of immigrants such as Raymond Kopa, Roger Piantoni, Maryan Wisnieski and Bernard Chiarelli. This tradition continued through the 1980s, when such successful players as Michel Platini, Jean Tigana, Luis Fernández, Gérard Janvion, Manuel Amoros or Eric Cantona were all of either foreign-born or overseas-born ancestries. Since the 1990s, the team has been widely celebrated as an example of the modern multicultural French ideal.[1]
In recent years, critics on the far right of the French political spectrum have taken issue with the proportional underrepresentation of white Frenchmen on 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 publicly appealed to the French voting public to reject the presidential candidacy of Le Pen and instead return President Jacques Chirac to office in a landslide. In 2006, Le Pen also resumed his criticism, charging that coach Raymond Domenech had selected too many black players.[2]
In 2005, French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut caused a controversy by remarking to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that despite its earlier slogan, "the French national team is in fact black-black-black," adding "France is made fun of all around Europe because of that." He later excused himself for this comment, which he declared was not meant to be offensive.[3]
In 2004, a television crew recorded Spanish coach Luis Aragonés motivating Thierry Henry's Arsenal teammate José Antonio Reyes by saying Demuestra que eres mejor que ese negro de mierda ("Show that you're better than that shitty black"). After an investigation, UEFA fined the RFEF and warned that future incidents would be punished more severely. Henry and Nike began a Stand Up Speak Up campaign against football racism as a result of the incident. Before the start of France's 2006 World Cup second round match against Spain, which France would win 3-1, coach Raymond Domenech claimed that Spanish fans were making racial taunts[4], this however was not proved.
The Zidane-Materazzi headbutt incident in the 2006 World Cup final and its aftermath served as a symbol for the larger issue of Europe's struggle to integrate its non-white immigrant population: even though both players denied it,[5] international media speculated for days about the presence of a racist element in the exchange,[6] observing that the Italian team contained no ethnic minorities,[7] although this observation is not true as Italy midfielder Mauro Camoranesi, who was in the team at the time, is from Latin America.
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, however. In 2001, France played a friendly match in the Stade de France, site of its 1998 World Cup triumph, against Algeria. It was France's first meeting with its former colony, with whom it had fought a war from 1954-62, 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 and caused the game to be suspended. It was never resumed.
[edit] Competitive record
[edit] World Cup record
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[edit] European Championship record
[edit] Confederations Cup record
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- *Draws include knockout matches decided by penalty shootout.
- **Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won. Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.
[edit] Manager Record
| Name | Nat | Period | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raymond Domenech | |
July 2004-Current | 33 | 17 | 10 | 6* |
- This record does not include friendlies. Also, the World Cup 2006 penalty shoot out final is considered a loss on this record.
[edit] Current squad
Squad for 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification against Serbia on September 10, 2008.
Caps and goals as of September 10, 2008.
[edit] Recent call-ups
[edit] Coaching staff
| Head Coach | Raymond Domenech |
| Assistant Coach | Alain Boghossian Pierre Mankowski |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Bruno Martini |
[edit] Previous squads
- 2008 European Football Championship squads - France
- 2006 FIFA World Cup squads - France
- 2004 European Football Championship squads - France
- 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup squads - France
- 2002 FIFA World Cup squads - France
- 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup squads - France
- 2000 European Football Championship squads - France
- 1998 FIFA World Cup squads - France
- 1996 European Football Championship squads - France
- 1992 European Football Championship squads - France
- 1986 FIFA World Cup squads - France
- 1984 European Football Championship squads - France
- 1982 FIFA World Cup squads - France
- 1978 FIFA World Cup squads - France
- 1966 FIFA World Cup squads - France
- 1960 European Nations' Cup squads - France
- 1958 FIFA World Cup squads - France
- 1954 FIFA World Cup squads - France
- 1938 FIFA World Cup squads - France
- 1934 FIFA World Cup squads - France
- 1930 FIFA World Cup squads - France
[edit] Players
[edit] Famous past players
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This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (April 2008) |
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This is a list of famous or notable sports persons with no clear inclusion or exclusion criteria, and as such should not be treated as encylopedic. Please help to improve Wikipedia by ensuring that there is specific reason for the selected players. It would be useful to establish WP:CONSENSUS for such criteria on the talk page, using guidance available at WP:NOTED PLAYER. If no criteria is forthcoming, the section is liable to deletion. Please do not remove this message until the section contains only verifiable material |
- See also: French International Footballers
[edit] Most capped French players
As of September 10, 2008 the ten players with the most caps for France are:
| # | Name | Career | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lilian Thuram | 1994–2008 | 142 | 2 |
| 2 | Marcel Desailly | 1993–2004 | 116 | 3 |
| 3 | Zinédine Zidane | 1994–2006 | 108 | 31 |
| 4 | Patrick Vieira | 1997– | 105 | 6 |
| 5 | Thierry Henry | 1997– | 105 | 46 |
| 6 | Didier Deschamps | 1989–2000 | 103 | 4 |
| 7 | Laurent Blanc | 1989–2000 | 97 | 16 |
| Bixente Lizarazu | 1992–2004 | 97 | 2 | |
| 9 | Sylvain Wiltord | 1999–2006 | 92 | 26 |
| 10 | Fabien Barthez | 1994–2006 | 87 | 0 |
Bold denotes players still playing or available for selection.
[edit] Top France goalscorers
As of September 10, 2008 the highest ten goalscorers for France are:
| # | Player | Career | Goals (Caps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thierry Henry | 1997– | 46 (105) |
| 2 | Michel Platini | 1976–1987 | 41 (72) |
| 3 | David Trézéguet | 1998–2008 | 34 (71) |
| 4 | Zinédine Zidane | 1994–2006 | 31 (108) |
| 5 | Just Fontaine | 1953–1960 | 30 (21) |
| Jean-Pierre Papin | 1986–1995 | 30 (54) | |
| 7 | Youri Djorkaeff | 1993–2002 | 28 (82) |
| 8 | Sylvain Wiltord | 1999–2006 | 26 (92) |
| 9 | Jean Vincent | 1953–1961 | 22 (46) |
| 10 | Jean Nicolas | 1933–1938 | 21 (25) |
Bold denotes players still playing or available for selection.
[edit] Coaches
Before 1955, players were selected by committee.
- Albert Batteux (1955-1962)
- Henri Guérin (1962-1966)
- José Arribas and Jean Snella (1966)
- Just Fontaine (1967)
- Louis Dugauguez (1967-1968)
- Georges Boulogne (1969-1973)
- Stefan Kovacs (1973-1975)
- Michel Hidalgo (1976-1984)
- Henri Michel (1984-1988)
- Michel Platini (1988-1992)
- Gérard Houllier (1992-1993)
- Aimé Jacquet (1993-1998)
- Roger Lemerre (1998-2002)
- Jacques Santini (2002-2004)
- Raymond Domenech (2004-)
Category:France national football team managers
[edit] See also
- 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
[edit] References
- ^ a b "The unluckiest team", BBC (29 March 2002). Retrieved on 2008-07-12.
- ^ "The Sword is Mightier than Le Pen", ESPN (7 July 2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-17.
- ^ "Finkielkraut sur Europe 1", Le Nouvel Observateur (25 November 2005). Retrieved on 2005-11-25.
- ^ "Spanish fans accused of racism".
- ^ "Zidane and Materazzi fined and banned by FIFA", Reuters (20 July 2006). Retrieved on 2006-07-20.
- ^ Hughes, Matt (2006-07-10). "Read my lips: the taunt that made Zidane snap", The Times. Retrieved on 2006-07-11.
- ^ "Race card trumps head-butt", Toronto Sun (2006-07-15). Retrieved on 2006-08-12. "The Head Butt Furor: A Window on Europe's Identity Crisis", TIME Magazine (2006-07-13). Retrieved on 2006-07-13. It should be noted that Italy, historically an emigrant nation, has a small non-white population, whereas France has become a multiracial country due to substantial non-European immigration, chiefly from its former colonial empire.
[edit] External links
- French National Football Team Official Website (French)
- French National Football Team Database 1994-Nowadays (French)
- French National Football Team Database (French)
- French National Football Team (French)
- IFFHS Archive:1904-1910
- RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
- RSSSF archive of coaches 1960-
[edit] Titles
| Preceded by 1994 Brazil  |
World Champions 1998 (First title) |
Succeeded by 2002 Brazil |
| Preceded by 1999 Mexico  |
Confederations Cup Winners 2001 (First title) 2003 (Second title) |
Succeeded by 2005 Brazil |
| Preceded by 1980 West Germany  |
European Champions 1984 (First title) |
Succeeded by 1988 Netherlands  |
| Preceded by 1996 Germany |
European Champions 2000 (Second title) |
Succeeded by 2004 Greece  |
| Preceded by Inaugral Event |
Artemio Franchi Trophy 1985 (First title) |
Succeeded by 1993 Argentina  |
| Preceded by 1993 Hungary  |
Kirin Cup Champions 1994 (First title) |
Succeeded by 1995 Japan  |
| Preceded by 1996 Croatia  |
King Hassan II Cup Winners 1998 (First title) 2000 (Second title) |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
