France Olympic football team
The France Olympic football team represents France in international football competitions in Olympic Games. It has been active since 1900, and first competed in 1900. Olympic football was originally an amateur sport, and as the pre-World War II France national team was also amateur, it was able to send a team to the games. The rules on amateurism were relaxed in the 1980s, which allowed France some success, notably a gold medal finish in 1984. Since 1992 the tournament has been competed by under-23 teams, making France's Olympic qualification dependent on the results of the under-21 team. Only in 2020 the French returned to the Olympic stage.
Nickname(s) | Les Bleus (The Blues) Les Tricolores (The Tricolors) | ||
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Association | Fédération Française de Football (FFF) | ||
Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
Head coach | Thierry Henry | ||
FIFA code | FRA | ||
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First international | |||
![]() ![]() (London, England; 18 October 1908) | |||
Biggest win | |||
![]() ![]() (Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, France; 27 May 1924) | |||
Biggest defeat | |||
![]() ![]() (London, England; 22 October 1908) | |||
Summer Olympic Games | |||
Appearances | 13 (first in 1900) | ||
Best result | ![]() | ||
Medal record |
Results and fixtures
- Legend
Win Draw Lose Voided or Postponed Fixture
2021
16 July Friendly | South Korea ![]() | 1–2 | ![]() | Seoul, South Korea |
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Report (FFF) |
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Stadium: Seoul World Cup Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea) |
22 July 2020 Summer Olympics GS Group A | Mexico ![]() | 4–1 | ![]() | Chōfu, Japan |
17:00 (UTC+9) |
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Report | Stadium: Tokyo Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Chris Beath (Australia) |
25 July 2021 2020 Summer Olympics GS Group A | France ![]() | 4–3 | ![]() | Saitama, Japan |
17:00 (UTC+9) | Report | Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002 Attendance: 0 Referee: Kevin Ortega (Peru) |
28 July 2021 2020 Summer Olympics GS Group A | France ![]() | 0–4 | ![]() | Yokohama, Japan |
20:30 (UTC+9) | Report | Stadium: International Stadium Yokohama Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador) |
Players
Current squad
- France's initial final squad was announced on 25 June 2021.[1] However, after several clubs refused to release their players, a new squad was announced on 2 July 2021, along with additional players to complete the final roster.[2] Before the start of the tournament, Niels Nkounkou was called up to replace the injured Jérémy Gelin.[3]
- André-Pierre Gignac, Téji Savanier and Florian Thauvin were the three selected over 23 years old players.
- Caps and goals correct as of 29 July 2023.
No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
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1 | GK | Remy Descamps | 25 June 1996 | 4 | 0 | ![]() |
2 | DF | Pierre Kalulu | 5 June 2000 | 4 | 0 | ![]() |
3 | DF | Melvin Bard | 6 November 2000 | 3 | 0 | ![]() |
4 | DF | Timothée Pembélé | 9 September 2002 | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
5 | DF | Niels Nkounkou | 1 November 2000 | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
6 | MF | Lucas Tousart | 29 April 1997 | 4 | 0 | ![]() |
7 | FW | Arnaud Nordin | 17 June 1998 | 3 | 0 | ![]() |
8 | MF | Enzo Le Fée | 3 February 2000 | 4 | 0 | ![]() |
9 | FW | Nathanaël Mbuku | 16 March 2002 | 3 | 1 | ![]() |
10 | FW | André-Pierre Gignac (captain) | 5 December 1985 | 4 | 4 | ![]() |
11 | MF | Téji Savanier | 22 December 1991 | 4 | 1 | ![]() |
12 | MF | Alexis Beka Beka | 29 March 2001 | 4 | 0 | ![]() |
13 | DF | Clément Michelin | 11 May 1997 | 4 | 0 | ![]() |
14 | FW | Florian Thauvin | 26 January 1993 | 4 | 0 | ![]() |
15 | DF | Modibo Sagnan | 14 April 1999 | 3 | 0 | ![]() |
16 | GK | Stefan Bajic | 23 December 2001 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
17 | DF | Anthony Caci | 1 July 1997 | 4 | 0 | ![]() |
18 | FW | Randal Kolo Muani | 5 December 1998 | 4 | 1 | ![]() |
19 | DF | Ismaël Doukouré | 24 July 2003 | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
20 | FW | Isaac Lihadji | 4 April 2002 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
22 | GK | Dimitry Bertaud | 6 June 1998 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
Overage players in Olympic Games
Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
---|---|---|---|
did not select | |||
Téji Savanier (MF) | Florian Thauvin (FW) | André-Pierre Gignac (FW) |
Olympic Games record
Since the 1992 Summer Olympics, teams consist of under-23 players, with the possibility of 3 players over the age of 23 being selected. The 1960 Summer Olympics mark the moment FIFA no longer consider Olympic matches to be played by national A teams. Before the 1984 Summer Olympics, only amateur footballers could participate. In fact, some countries fielded teams that were very similar to their A teams since their players were considered amateur.
Summer Olympic Games record | Qualifications record | ||||||||||||||||
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Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Squad | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
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Runners-up | 2nd | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | Squad | Qualified as hosts | — | ||||||
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did not enter | did not enter | — | ||||||||||||||
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Semi-final | 5th | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 26 | Squad | Invited | — | ||||||
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withdrew | invited | — | ||||||||||||||
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Semi-final | 4th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | Squad | Invited | — | ||||||
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Quarter-final | 5th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | Squad | Qualified as hosts | — | ||||||
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First round | 9th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | Squad | Invited | — | ||||||
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did not enter | did not enter | — | ||||||||||||||
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Quarter-final | 5th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Squad | Invited | — | ||||||
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Preliminary round | 17th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Squad | Invited | — | ||||||
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did not qualify | did not enter | — | ||||||||||||||
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First round | 5th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | Squad | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1960 | |
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did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 1964 | |||||||||
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Quarter-final | 5th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | Squad | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 1968 | |
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did not qualify | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 1972 | |||||||||
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Quarter-final | 5th | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 7 | Squad | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 1976 | |
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did not enter | did not enter | 1980 | ||||||||||||||
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Gold medal | 1st | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 6 | Squad | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 1984 | |
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did not qualify | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 16 | 1988 | |||||||||
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UEFA European Under-21 Championship | 1992 | |||||||||||||||
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Quarter-final | 5th | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | Squad | 1996 | |||||||
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did not qualify | 2000 | |||||||||||||||
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2004 | ||||||||||||||||
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2008 | ||||||||||||||||
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2012 | ||||||||||||||||
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2016 | ||||||||||||||||
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Group stage | 13th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 11 | Squad | 2020 | |||||||
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Qualified as hosts | Qualified as hosts | 2024 | ||||||||||||||
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to be determined | to be determined | |||||||||||||||
Total | 2 medals | 13/27 | 36 | 16 | 5* | 15 | 61 | 94 | — | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 57 | 49 | Total |
- *Red border indicates tournament was held on home soil.
Coaching history
FFF Committee: 1900 – Paris & 1908 – London
Fred Pentland: 1920 – Brussels
Charles Griffiths: 1924 – Paris
Peter Farmer: 1928 – Amsterdam
FFF Committee: 1948 – London & 1952 – Helsinki
Jean Rigal: 1960 – Rome
André Grillon: 1968 – Mexico City
Gaby Robert: 1976 – Montreal
Henri Michel: 1984 – Los Angeles
Raymond Domenech: 1996 – Atlanta
Sylvain Ripoll: 2020 – Tokyo
See also
References
- Orsini, Vincent (25 June 2021). "La liste pour les Jeux de Tokyo" [The list for the Tokyo Games] (in French). French Football Federation.
- "La liste actualisée pour les JO de Tokyo" [The updated list for the Tokyo Olympics] (in French). French Football Federation. 2 July 2021.
- "Olympic Games: Niels Nkounkou arrives in Tokyo on Monday". news.in-24.com. 19 July 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.