France History
France seeking
perfection
Frenchmen were responsible for the founding of football's great tournaments and
the country's footballers have recently begun to match those off-field
achievements.
French innovations
France played their first international match in 1904, drawing 3-3 with Belgium
in Brussels, and became founder members of FIFA in the same year. Frenchman
Jules Rimet founded the FIFA World Cup in the 1930s, while, some two decades
later, his compatriots Gabriel Hanot and Henri Delaunay would introduce the
European Champion Clubs' Cup and UEFA European Championship respectively.
Famous first
The French Football Federation was established in 1918, and 12 years later the
French national team made history by winning the first ever World Cup match, 4-1
against Mexico in Montevideo in 1930. After making first-round exits from the
first two World Cups, France hosted the third edition in 1938 where they lost to
eventual champions Italy in the second round.
Scoring record
At the 1958 finals in Sweden, France's footballers first made their mark on the
world stage. The stars of France's progress to the semi-finals and an eventual
third-place finish were Raymond Kopa and Just Fontaine. The latter arrived at
the finals expecting to be a reserve only for injuries to give him his
opportunity - a chance he took with both hands, scoring a record 13 goals in
France's six games.
Platini emerges
France's fortunes declined in the 1960s but in the late 1970s a French side of
real quality began to emerge, inspired by gifted midfield player Michel Platini,
who remains his country's record scorer with 41 goals. They gave a hint of
things to come at the 1978 World Cup, before captivating audiences with their
performances at the 1982 finals in Spain.
Shoot-out misery
Coached by Michel Hidalgo and featuring the extravagant midfield talents of
Platini, Alain Giresse and Jean Tigana, France would have been worthy winners of
the tournament. Instead, they fell at the semi-final stage, beaten in the World
Cup's first-ever penalty shoot-out after a dramatic 3-3 draw with West Germany.
Nine goals
That side's finest hour came two years later, when they won the European
Championship on home turf. Platini scored a record nine goals in the tournament,
including hat-tricks against Belgium and Yugoslavia, on the way to France's 2-0
victory against Spain in the final.
End of an era
The 1986 World Cup in Mexico marked the last chapter of the Platini era and, as
in 1982, it ended with a semi-final defeat against West Germany. France's next
World Cup finals appearance, on home soil in 1998, proved worth the wait.
World Cup glory
Boasting the defensive excellence of Marcel Desailly and the playmaking talents
of Zinedine Zidane, the French had suggested at EURO 96™, where they reached the
semi-finals, that they would be a force to be reckoned with. So it proved. They
overcame Italy in the quarter-finals, Croatia in the semi-finals and beat Brazil
3-0 in the final, with Zidane scoring twice.
European dominance
France followed up with victory at UEFA EURO 2000™, with Roger Lemerre now at
the helm, by becoming the first team to win the European Championship as world
champions. Zidane was again the inspiration, but it took a late equaliser from
Sylvain Wiltord and a golden-goal winner from David Trezeguet to overcome Italy
2-1 in the final in Rotterdam.
Normal service
They came back down to earth by crashing out at the group stage during the World
Cup in 2002. However, normal service was resumed under new coach Jacques Santini,
as France sauntered through UEFA EURO 2004™ qualification with eight wins out of
eight.
Country Info
Football's
French revolution
AREA: 547,030 sq km
POPULATION: 60,180,529
NEIGHBOURS: Andorra, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain,
Switzerland
LANGUAGES: French
CAPITAL CITY: Paris
At the heart of politics and culture in Europe throughout history, it is nonetheless only relatively recently that France has gained a footballing reputation to match its worldwide stature.
Ancient history
There has been human life in France for at least 90,000 years, and the country
has seen its fair share of inhabitants over the centuries, from Celtic Gauls and
Romans to the Germanic Franks who took control in the fifth century and gave the
country its modern name.
Radical thinking
Synonymous with radical thinking since the French Revolution, which began in
1789, France has also been famous for its occasional dalliances with despotism,
most famously under Napoleon, under whose aegis France conquered half of Europe
in the early 19th century.
Belated success
That combination of radical ideas and strong leadership has served France
well on the pitch too. While the French national team made its debut on 1 May
1904 with a 3-3 draw with Belgium, it was not until 1984 that the nation could
boast a major tournament victory, as a team powered by the majestic Michel
Platini won the UEFA European Championship on home soil.
Sporting excellence
However, a groundbreaking government decision to invest in sporting excellence
was to lead to more impressive results in the late 1990s, as the Clairefontaine
football academy helped give birth to perhaps the greatest European football
team of modern times.
Modern brilliance
Aimé Jacquet led a star-studded side, schooled in France but seasoned in Spain,
Germany, England and Italy, to success on home territory at the 1998 FIFA World
Cup. His successor, Roger Lemerre, repeated that success at UEFA EURO 2000™.
Leading contenders
First-round elimination at the 2002 World Cup was a major surprise and
disappointment after that, but following great displays in qualifying, few can
deny France's right to battle at UEFA EURO 2004™.
Today year 2004 France team
Player name list
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|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Group B | |||||||
| PLD | W | D | L | GS | GA | PTS | |
|
France |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 7 |
|
England |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 6 |
|
Croatia |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
|
Switzerland |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 |