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The France national football team (French: Équipe de France de football) represents France in men's international football. It is controlled by the French Football Federation (FFF; Fédération française de football), the governing body for football in France. It is a member of UEFA in Europe and FIFA in global competitions. The team's colours and imagery reference two national symbols: the French blue-white-red tricolour and Gallic rooster (coq gaulois). The team is colloquially known as Les Bleus (The Blues). They play home matches at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis and train at Centre National du Football in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines.
Founded in 1904, the team has won two FIFA World Cups, two UEFA European Championships, one CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, two FIFA Confederations Cups and one UEFA Nations League title.[3] France was one of the four European teams that participated in the first World Cup in 1930. Twenty-eight years later, the team led by Raymond Kopa and Just Fontaine finished in third place at the 1958 World Cup. France experienced much of its success in three different eras: in the 1980s, the late 1990s to early 2000s, and the late 2010s to early 2020s. In 1984, under the leadership of the three-time Ballon d'Or winner Michel Platini, France won Euro 1984 (its first official title), a CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup (1985), and reached two World Cup semi-finals (1982 and 1986).
During the captaincy of Didier Deschamps, with Zinedine Zidane on the pitch, Les Bleus won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. They also won the Confederations Cup in 2001 and 2003. Three years later, France made it to the final of the 2006 World Cup, losing 5–3 on penalties to Italy. A decade later, the team reached the final of Euro 2016, where they lost 1–0 to Portugal in extra time. Two years after that, France won the 2018 World Cup, its second title in that competition. After winning the 2021 Nations League, they became the first, and so far, the only European national team to have won every senior FIFA and UEFA competition.[4][5] In 2022, France reached a second consecutive World Cup final, but lost 4–2 on penalties to Argentina. France is also one of only two countries, the other being Brazil, to have won all men's FIFA 11-player competitions at all age levels,[6][7][8][9][10] having claimed both the FIFA World Cup, FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA U-17 World Cup, the now-defunct FIFA Confederations Cup, and Olympic title, as well as the first to complete the collection, after the U-20 national team captured the first U-20 World Cup title in 2013.[8]
France has footballing rivalries with Belgium,[11] England,[12] Germany,[13] Italy,[14] Portugal,[15] and Spain.[16] A bitter rivalry with Argentina also developed and intensified in the early 2020s.[17]
- ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
- ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 18 November 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ "Brief history of Les Bleus is real coq and ball story". 17 February 2017.
- ^ "– France on". FIFA. Archived from the original on 3 June 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
- ^ "– Tournaments". FIFA. Archived from the original on 2 June 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
- ^ "How many times has France won the World Cup? History, wins, titles for Les Blues in men's FIFA football tournament". Sporting News. 7 October 2022. Archived from the original on 26 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ "France wins FIFA Confederations Cup". Oceania Football Confederation. 30 June 2003. Archived from the original on 26 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ a b "France capture U-20 World Cup title". UEFA.com. 13 July 2013. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ "October 1, 2001: France wins under-17 World Cup". Gulf News. 30 September 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ "France adds Olympic gold to European title". Olympics. 28 June 2023. Archived from the original on 20 September 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ "France & Belgium, rivals on top of the world". FIFA. 30 December 2018. Archived from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ Falconer, Diane (10 December 2022). "France fans savour 'brilliant' World Cup win over England". Yahoo Sports. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ Douglas, Steve (3 July 2014). "France, Germany renew rivalry at World Cup". Gainesville Times. Archived from the original on 20 September 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ "Storia recente di Italia-Francia" (in Italian). Fanta Gazzetta. 14 November 2012. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "From Xavier to Batta: how controversy shaped Portugal v France rivalry". The Guardian. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
- ^ Okwonga, Musa (11 October 2021). "France's Win Over Spain Was a Prelude to an Epic Rivalry in the Making". The Ringer. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ Le Clash: Bitter soccer rivals France and Argentina meet in Olympic quarterfinals amid a racism spat Associated Press. 1 August 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.