A history of France at the World Cup

Learn about France’s history at the World Cup. Discover their most famous wins, their record in the tournament, their biggest wins, top scorers, and more!

Helping to create some of the most memorable matches in World Cup history, France are one of the top teams to have ever featured in the tournament.

With a track record of going deep into the World Cup, the French national team are expected to see success, being favoured in the majority of matches they play in due to the quality stars they have involved.

But what’s their overall record in the World Cup? What iconic moments have they had? And who’ve been their top scorers and most capped players?

Below, we’ll discuss all this and more, giving you a total rundown of France’s history at the World Cup.

What is France’s World Cup record?

Out of all 22 World Cups played, France have only failed to qualify for six of them, meaning they’ve played in 16 different tournaments.

The last time that France didn’t qualify for the World Cup was in 1994, after their star-studded team lost 2-1 to Bulgaria courtesy of two Kostadinov goals. Since then, however, Les Bleus have achieved qualification for the last eight tournaments, beginning this streak in 1998.

They’ve played a total of 73 matches, winning 39, drawing 14, and losing 20, giving them a decent win rate of 53.4%.

Though having many great campaigns over the years, their best ones were undoubtedly in 1998 and 2018, as they won the tournament on both occasions.

How many times has France won the World Cup?

One of five teams to win the World Cup more than once, France are two-time winners of the tournament, with their victories coming in 1998 and 2018 as mentioned before.

Though only winning twice, they’re a frequent feature in the latter stages of the tournament considering they’ve reached the final in four of the last seven World Cups. So, expect them to be a likely challenger for the tournament and to see them appearing in the late stages again in 2026.

A recap of France’s 2018 World Cup win

Their most recent win in the tournament came in the 2018 Russian World Cup, with this being a recent memory for footballing fans around the world. The final put them up against underdogs Croatia, but the game was still a thriller, having a scoreline of 4-2.

France got the opener from an own goal by Mario Mandzukic, but it was only ten minutes later that Ivan Perisic equalised for Croatia.

From here, France ran away with the game, with a controversially given Antoine Griezmann penalty putting them in front before half-time. This was then followed by Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappé further extending the lead within 20 minutes of the second half. Mandzukic managed to pull one back for Croatia, but it wasn’t enough for them in the end despite them going toe-to-toe for much of the game.

What is France’s record against their group stage opponents?

The 2026 World Cup places France in a group against Senegal, Norway, and the winner of the playoff match between Bolivia and Suriname, or Iraq in March. To get an idea of how these games might pan out, it’s worth considering their previous records against each of these sides.

Senegal

Though France were ranked as number one in the FIFA rankings at the time, the 2002 World Cup matchup between them and Senegal finished 1-0 in favour of the African nation.

Senegal, ranked 42nd in the FIFA rankings, managed to win because of Pape Bouba Diop’s goal 30 minutes in, shocking the footballing world.

Being the only time that the two sides have faced each other, it’s been proven that Senegal can provide a shock against Les Bleus – surely something which they’ll be looking to do again.

Norway

The 16 matchups that have occurred between France and Norway paint a closer picture than some may imagine.

Out of all the games they’ve played, France have won seven, drawn four, and lost five.

Their most recent fixture, an international friendly in 2014, saw France come out 4-0 winners, with Norway last beating Les Bleus 2-1 in a 2010 friendly.

Bolivia

France have only matched up against Bolivia once before the 2026 World Cup, which took the form of a 2019 international friendly.

The scoreline finished at 2-0, with Thomas Lemar and Antoine Griezmann being the only two goalscorers.

Suriname

Currently, Suriname have never played France in international football, with Suriname not having qualified for a World Cup before and not featuring in a friendly against Les Bleus either.

Though France will be heavy favourites should Suriname qualify, it’ll still be an interesting watch with there being no prior history between the sides.

Iraq

France are also yet to play Iraq in an international fixture, leaving this one as another potential first-time matchup.

Again, France will be the favoured team here, but it’ll be interesting to see how their record against each other could begin.

Iconic French World Cup memories

As one of the biggest competitors in the tournament’s history, and having had some of the best players, France have been able to make some special memories and moments. Let’s take a look through some of the biggest ones they’ve been part of so far, with some being more controversial than others:

Winning on home soil in (1998)

Winning the first World Cup for your nation is special but doing it in your home country is something even better. Winning 3-0 over an international powerhouse like Brazil makes this even more impressive, especially considering they’d failed to qualify for the 1994 edition of the tournament. After two Zidane headers, Emmanuel Petit secured the win late on, sealing them as World Cup winners.

Zidane’s headbutt (2006)

One of the more shocking and controversial moments in France’s World Cup history happened during the 2006 World Cup final against Italy.

In the 110th minute of the game, Zinedine Zidane headbutted Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the chest. The incident saw Zidane receive a red card, proving to be the last action he would make for the French national team. France went on to lose the final 5-3 on penalties after the game finished as a 1-1 draw.

Final vs Argentina (2022)

The Qatar edition treated us to one of the best World Cup finals in history, with France and Argentina drawing 3-3 in what proved to be a thrilling contest. Though France ended up losing the game, they only lost on penalties, with Argentina winning the shootout 4-2.

Kylian Mbappé was a star feature of the game, scoring the first hat-trick in a World Cup final since Geoff Hurst’s in 1966 for England. Mbappé’s second goal was extremely special, volleying the ball into the bottom corner to equalise and take the game to extra time. Despite being on the losing end of the game, France helped to provide us with a special World Cup fixture.

Taking part in the first World Cup game ever (1930)

The first World Cup in 1930 took place in Uruguay, seeing France face off against Mexico in the tournament’s first-ever fixture. Les Bleus came out as 4-1 victors over their opposition, with Lucien Laurant becoming the World Cup’s first scorer after notching a goal 19 minutes into the game.

Zidane’s Panenka penalty (2006)

Zidane became one of a select few players to ever score in multiple finals in fantastic fashion. After scoring twice in the 1998 final, he was awarded a penalty vs Italy in 2006 and decided to chip the ball down the middle against Gianluigi Buffon, one of the best keepers in the world. The pure bravery it took to attempt something so audacious in a final of such magnitude has made it such a special moment.

The infamous 2010 World Cup campaign (2010)

After the team reached the final in the World Cup prior, France had high expectations heading into the 2010 tournament. However, this time would be different, with the legendary Zinedine Zidane missing from the side. With unrest in the camp, players boycotting training, and forward Nicolas Anelka famously expelled from the squad, this was a tournament to forget for the French.

France underwent a shock exit from the tournament after losing 2-1 to hosts South Africa. The result saw them finish bottom of the group with a negative three goal difference, following a draw against Uruguay and a loss to Mexico.

France’s biggest World Cup wins

With France having some world-class players over the years, they’ve certainly been involved in some high-scoring matches. Here are just a few of their biggest World Cup wins:

7-3 vs Paraguay (1958)

This standout performance was one that grabbed global attention from fans worldwide, with striker Just Fontaine being the star performer after scoring a hat-trick. The match was played at a thrilling tempo, with Raymond Kopa’s playmaking abilities being key to breaking down Paraguay’s defence. The effort of the Paraguayan team can’t be questioned, but it wasn’t enough for a comeback.

4-0 vs Northern Ireland (1958)

Fans were certainly entertained by this clash, with Just Fontaine starring yet again as he scored another hat-trick. France dominated the fixture, keeping Northern Ireland comfortably at bay, and demonstrated top attacking qualities. This sent France to the semi-final and Fontaine established himself as one of the tournament’s top players.

4-0 vs Saudi Arabia (1998)

Another dominant performance from the French national team saw players like Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, and Emmanuel Petit heavily feature. Despite Saudi Arabia showing resilience, defender Mohammed Al-Khilaiwi was controversially sent off in the second half and France saw out the win on the way to their first World Cup.

3-0 vs Brazil (1998)

France powered to their first-ever World Cup, spearheaded by Zinedine Zidane after his two headed goals in the first half. Emmanuel Petit finished off the game and made it 3-0 in injury time of the second half, with a low strike from Patrick Vieira’s pass. Zidane claimed the Man of the Match award and France won their first World Cup.

Who has made the most World Cup appearances for France?

The French national team has seen some players manage an incredible level of longevity, with some managing to attend up to four different World Cups! Below, the table will cover France’s most capped players, highlighting the number of games they’ve played and how many tournaments they featured in.

With Kylian Mbappé looking to feature in the 2026 World Cup, he’ll likely climb this list fairly quickly. Should France go all the way, he could even top the list by July, and, given his age, he could play in the two World Cups after. If he does manage to play in the 2030 and 2034 tournaments, there’s potential that he’ll comfortably top the list by the end of his playing career.

Who has scored the most World Cup goals for France?

Les Bleus have been blessed with many prolific goalscorers over the years, with many even still playing for the national team to this day. Here’s a list of France’s players with the most goals in the World Cup.

As Mbappé is still a regular feature of France’s national team, he’ll likely become the all-time World Cup top scorer for them after the 2026 tournament. As mentioned before, Mbappé has potential to play in the 2030 and 2034 editions too, so barring any extenuating circumstances, topping this list should be a formality for him.

How to bet on France at the 2026 World Cup

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