The France national football team (French: Equipe de France des Hommes) represents the nation of France in international association football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation (French: Fédération Française de Football), the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), which encompasses the countries of Europe. The team played its first official international match on 1 May 1904 against Belgium.[1][2] Since its first competitive match, more than 800 players have made at least one international appearance for the team.[3] As hundreds of players have played for the team since it started officially registering its players in 1904, only players with 20 or more official caps are included.

Thumb
France (left) lineup ahead of the UEFA Euro 2000 Final against Italy

Jean Ducret became the first French international to reach 20 caps, doing so on 29 March 1914 in a 2–0 defeat to Italy.[4] He was also one of the first permanent captains of the national team.[5] Ducret was later surpassed by defender Raymond Dubly and goalkeeper Pierre Chayriguès, who both played with the national team until 1925.[6] Dubly finished his international career with 31 caps.[7] Three years after retiring from the national team, Dubly's amount was exceeded by Jules Dewaquez, who went on to finish his career with 41 appearances.[8] Dewaquez's record stood for nearly a decade before his amount was equaled by Edmond Delfour in 1938 and later surmounted by Étienne Mattler a year later. Similar to Dubly, Mattler's amount was exceeded, however after two decades, by former Stade de Reims defenders Roger Marche and Robert Jonquet.[9][10] It was the former player who took over the record outperforming Jonquet by just five caps. Marche's 63 appearances remained the France national team record for appearance-making for 28 years, the longest time between the record being broken and set again. Marche was surpassed by Marius Trésor, who set the record after appearing in an October 1983 friendly match against Spain.[11][12]

Trésor represented France only once afterward and his 65-cap output was subsequently passed by defender Maxime Bossis and midfielder Michel Platini.[13][14] Bossis surpassed Trésor during qualifying for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, while Platini went beyond the former Marseille and Bordeaux player at the tournament itself, in which France finished in third place. Both players retired within months of each other as Bossis finished his career occupying the record, which was now at 76 caps, four more than Platini. After appearing at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Bossis acquired the record of appearing in the most FIFA World Cup matches for France. He was surpassed by goalkeeper Fabien Barthez in 2006.[15] Bossis was passed just six years later by former international teammate Manuel Amoros, who finished his international career with 82 appearances.[16][17] The 1992–93 UEFA Champions League winner was eventually equaled or outperformed by 13 different players. Of the 13 players, 10 of them played on the team that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and seven of them went on to become members of the FIFA Century Club, which consists of association football players who have accumulated 100 or more caps. Following the conclusion of UEFA Euro 2000, the record for France national team appearances was held by Didier Deschamps who also became the first French international to reach 100 caps. He was eventually surpassed by defender Marcel Desailly in 2003 who retired at the end of UEFA Euro 2004 with 116 caps.[18][19] As a result, Desailly became the first player not born in France or the overseas departments and territories to occupy the record. He was overtaken by Lilian Thuram, who broke Desailly's record at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in the team's final group stage match against Togo.[20][21] He would eventually finish with 142 caps. He is the second player born in an overseas department to hold the record, the first being Trésor. Both players were born in Guadeloupe.[22] The current record holder for appearances with the national team is Hugo Lloris, who made 145 total competitive appearances for the team between 2008 and 2022. Lloris broke Thuram's record at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the team's quarter final match against England.[23]

Players

Appearances and goals are composed of FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship matches and each competition's required qualification matches, as well as UEFA Nations League matches, FIFA Confederations Cup matches and numerous international friendly tournaments and matches. Players are listed by number of caps, then number of goals scored. If number of goals are equal, the players are then listed alphabetically.

More information GK, DF ...
Key
§
Still active for the national team[24]
Played on team that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup
Played on team that won the 2018 FIFA World Cup
GK Goalkeeper
DF Defender
MF Midfielder
FW Forward
Close
A black haired bearded white man wearing a deep blue jacket.
Hugo Lloris is the most-capped male France international having appeared in 145 matches and captained France to victory at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
A brown haired white man wearing a black/blue shirt.
Olivier Giroud (137 caps, 57 goals) is the national team's all-time leading goalscorer.
A young man wearing a blue shirt.
Michel Platini (72 caps, 41 goals) captained France to victory at UEFA Euro 1984.
Playmaker Zinedine Zidane (108 caps, 31 goals) is the seventh most capped French footballer of all time and captained France to the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final.
A dark-skinned man wearing a black jacket.
Marcel Desailly (116 caps, 3 goals) represented France at seven major international tournaments, including four as captain.
A dark-skinned man wearing a black and blue striped shirt.
Patrick Vieira (107 caps, 6 goals) was the fifth player to reach 100 caps for France.
Defender Laurent Blanc (97 caps, 16 goals) was declared the fourth best French player of all time by magazine France Football.[25]
A black and white photography of a light-skinned man wearing a shirt with a rooster on the left chest.
Roger Marche (63 caps, 1 goal) held the France national team record for appearance-making for 28 years, the longest time between the record being broken and set again.
A black and white photography of a light-skinned man.
Jean Ducret (20 caps, 3 goals) was the first player to reach 20 caps for France.
More information #, Name ...
France national team football players with at least 20 appearances
# Name Position National team
career
Caps Goals Ref
1 Hugo Lloris GK2008–20221450[26]
2 Lilian Thuram DF1994–20081422[27]
3 Olivier Giroud FW2011–202413757[28]
= Antoine Griezmann FW2014–202413744[29]
5 Thierry Henry FW1997–201012351[30]
6 Marcel Desailly DF1993–20041163[31]
7 Zinedine Zidane MF1994–200610831[32]
8 Patrick Vieira MF1997–20091076[33]
9 Didier Deschamps MF1989–20001034[34]
10 Karim Benzema FW2007–20229737[35]
= Laurent Blanc DF1989–20009716[36]
= Bixente Lizarazu DF1992–2004972[37]
13 Raphaël Varane DF2013–2022935[38]
14 Sylvain Wiltord FW1999–20069226[39]
15 Paul Pogba MF2013–20229111[40]
16 Fabien Barthez GK1994–2006870[41]
17 Kylian Mbappé§ FW2017–8648[42]
18 Blaise Matuidi MF2010–2019849[43]
= William Gallas DF2002–2010845[44]
20 Youri Djorkaeff FW1993–20028228[45]
= Manuel Amoros DF1982–1992821[17]
22 Franck Ribéry MF2006–20148116[46]
= Patrice Evra DF2004–2016810[47]
24 Florent Malouda MF2004–2012809[48]
25 Robert Pires FW1996–20047914[49]
26 Maxime Bossis DF1976–1986761[13]
27 Michel Platini MF1976–19877241[14]
28 David Trezeguet FW1998–20087134[50]
= Moussa Sissoko MF2009–2021712[51]
= Claude Makélélé MF1995–2008710[52]
31 Nicolas Anelka FW1998–20106914[53]
32 Eric Abidal DF2004–2013670[54]
33 Marius Trésor DF1971–1983654[55]
= Bacary Sagna DF2007–2016650[56]
35 N'Golo Kanté§ MF2016–642[57]
36 Emmanuel Petit MF1990–2003636[58]
= Roger Marche DF1947–1959631[9]
38 Luis Fernández MF1982–1992606[59]
39 Kingsley Coman§ FW2015–588[60]
= Henri Michel MF1967–1980584[61]
= Robert Jonquet DF1948–1960580[10]
= Willy Sagnol DF2000–2008580[62]
43 Patrick Battiston DF1977–1989563[63]
44 Christophe Dugarry FW1994–2002558[64]
= Benjamin Pavard§ DF2017–555[65]
46 Jean-Pierre Papin FW1986–19955430[66]
47 Ousmane Dembélé§ FW2016–536[67]
= Christian Karembeu MF1992–2002531[68]
49 Didier Six MF1976–19845213[69]
= Mathieu Valbuena MF2010–2015528[70]
= Jean Tigana MF1980–1988521[71]
52 Laurent Koscielny DF2011–2018511[72]
53 Adrien Rabiot§ MF2016–506[73]
= Frank Leboeuf DF1995–2002504[74]
= Joël Bats GK1983–1989500[75]
= Lucas Digne§ DF2014–500[76]
57 Dominique Rocheteau FW1975–19864915[77]
= Sidney Govou MF2002–20104910[78]
59 Yohan Cabaye MF2010–2016484[79]
= Jean Djorkaeff DF1964–1972483[80]
61 Alain Giresse MF1974–1986476[81]
62 Jean Vincent FW1953–19614622[82]
= Étienne Mattler DF1930–1940460[83]
64 Eric Cantona FW1987–19954520[84]
= Raymond Kopa MF1952–19624518[85]
= Basile Boli DF1986–1993451[86]
67 Georges Bereta FW1967–1975444[87]
= Jean-Jacques Marcel DF1953–1961443[88]
= Alou Diarra MF2004–2012440[89]
= Bernard Lama GK1993–2000440[90]
71 Bernard Bosquier DF1964–1972423[91]
72 Jules Dewaquez FW1920–19294112[8]
= Djibril Cissé FW2002–2011419[92]
= Samir Nasri MF2007–2013415[93]
= Edmond Delfour FW1929–1938412[94]
76 Vincent Candela DF1996–2002402[95]
= Mikaël Silvestre DF2001–2006402[96]
= Gérard Janvion DF1975–1982400[97]
= Jules Koundé§ MF2021–400[98]
80 Franck Sauzée MF1988–1993399[99]
= Armand Penverne DF1952–1959392[100]
= Christian Lopez DF1975–1982391[101]
83 Bernard Lacombe FW1973–19843812[102]
= Dimitri Payet MF2010–2018388[103]
= Aurélien Tchouaméni§ MF2021–383[104]
86 Roger Piantoni FW1952–19613718[105]
= Jean-Marc Ferreri MF1982–1990373[106]
= Jocelyn Angloma DF1990–1996371[107]
= Lucas Hernandez§ FW2018–370[108]
90 Charly Loubet FW1967–19743610[109]
= André-Pierre Gignac FW2009–2016367[110]
= Théo Hernandez§ DF2021–362[111]
= Adil Rami DF2010–2018361[112]
= Georges Carnus GK1963–1973360[113]
= Jérémy Toulalan MF2006–2010360[114]
96 Paul Nicolas FW1920–19313520[115]
= Georges Lech FW1963–1973357[116]
= Raymond Kaelbel DF1954–1960351[117]
= Steve Mandanda GK2008–2022350[118]
100 Bruno Bellone FW1981–1988342[119]
= Grégory Coupet GK2001–2008340[120]
= Lassana Diarra MF2007–2016340[121]
103 Maryan Wisnieski FW1955–19633312[122]
= Yannick Stopyra FW1980–19883311[123]
105 Jean Baratte FW1944–19523219[124]
106 Alfred Aston FW1934–1946315[125]
= Raymond Dubly FW1913–1935314[7]
= Yoann Gourcuff MF2008–2013314[126]
= Samuel Umtiti DF2016–2019314[127]
= André Lerond DF1957–1963310[128]
= Bruno Martini GK1987–1996310[129]
= Alex Thépot GK1927–1935310[130]
113 Hervé Revelli FW1966–19753015[131]
= Marcel Langiller FW1927–1937307[132]
= Loïc Rémy FW2009–2014307[133]
= Anthony Martial FW2015–2021302[134]
= Bernard Casoni DF1988–1992300[135]
118 Mamadou Sakho DF2010–2018292[136]
= Marcus Thuram§ FW2020–292[137]
= Philippe Mexès DF2002–2012291[138]
121 Dayot Upamecano§ DF2020–282[139]
= Corentin Tolisso FW2017–2021282[140]
= Yvon Le Roux DF1983–1989281[141]
= Presnel Kimpembe DF2018–2022280[142]
= Mike Maignan§ GK2020–280[143]
126 Randal Kolo Muani§ FW2022–278[144]
= Bernard Genghini MF1980–1986276[145]
= Thomas Lemar FW2016–2021274[146]
= Mathieu Debuchy DF2011–2018272[147]
= Jean-Alain Boumsong DF2003–2009271[148]
= Antoine Cuissard MF1946–1954271[149]
132 Patrice Loko FW1993–1997267[150]
= Alain Boghossian MF1997–2002262[151]
= Jean-Philippe Durand MF1988–1992260[152]
= François Remetter GK1953–1959260[153]
= William Saliba DF2022–260[154]
= Jean Wendling DF1959–1963260[155]
138 Jean Nicolas FW1933–19382521[156]
= Oscar Heisserer MF1936–1948258[157]
= Reynald Pedros MF1993–1996254[158]
= Youssouf Fofana MF2022–253[159]
= Nabil Fekir FW2015–2020252[160]
= Alain Roche DF1988–1996251[161]
= Joseph Bonnel MF1962–1969251[162]
= Julien Darui GK1939–1951250[163]
= Jean-Paul Rostagni DF1969–1973250[164]
= Alexandre Villaplane MF1926–1930250[165]
148 Émile Veinante FW1929–19402414[166]
= Eduardo Camavinga MF2020–242[167]
= Jérémy Ménez MF2010–2013242[168]
= François Hugues MF1919–1927241[169]
= André Chorda DF1960–1966240[170]
= René Ferrier MF1958–1964240[171]
154 Steve Marlet MF2000–2004236[172]
= André Strappe MF1949–1954234[173]
= Robert Herbin MF1960–1968233[174]
= Philippe Bonnardel MF1920–1927230[175]
= Éric Di Meco DF1989–1996230[176]
159 Roger Courtois FW1933–19472210[177]
= Christian Perez FW1988–1992222[178]
= Yann M'Vila MF2010–2012221[179]
= Pascal Vahirua FW1990–1994221[180]
= Jean-Pierre Adams DF1972–1976220[181]
= Benoît Pedretti MF2002–2005220[182]
= Thierry Tusseau MF1977–1986220[183]
= Jules Vandooren DF1933–1942220[184]
167 Just Fontaine FW1953–19602130[185]
= Joseph Ujlaki FW1952–19602110[186]
= Marcel Artelesa DF1963–1966211[187]
= Olivier Dacourt MF2001–2004211[188]
= Dominique Baratelli GK1969–1982210[189]
= Pierre Bernard GK1960–1965210[190]
= Pierre Chayriguès GK1911–1925210[6]
= Ibrahima Konaté DF2022–210[191]
= Bruno Rodzik DF1960–1963210[192]
= Sébastien Squillaci DF2004–2010210[193]
= Urbain Wallet DF1925–1929210[194]
178 Dominique Bathenay MF1975–1982204[195]
= Yvon Douis FW1957–1965204[196]
= Louis Saha FW2004–2012204[197]
= Jean Ducret MF1910–1914203[198]
= Anthony Réveillère DF2003–2012201[199]
= Marcel Aubour DF1964–1968200[200]
= William Ayache DF1983–1988200[201]
= Gaël Clichy DF2008–2013200[202]
= Marcel Domergue DF1922–1928200[203]
= Jacky Novi DF1969–1972200[204]
= Steven Nzonzi MF2017–2020200[205]
Close

See also

References

Wikiwand in your browser!

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.

Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.