Looking at the scattering of players that is available coaching staff, it is impossible not to appreciate the potential of the French team. The “tricolors” have picked up a very strong team with a constellation of players who are not just stars, but are in their prime. France has a reliable last frontier, where in starting lineup Steve Mandanda does not pass, because the gate is at the mercy of Hugo Lloris from Tottenham, who is also the captain national team. In defense, the French have a mixture of experience and youth, and almost all of their leading defenders either play or have played in the best clubs English Premier League. But the main line of the team, of course, and by right is the midfield, which should include the flanks of the attack. Antoine Griezmann, who in recent years has turned into the king of the red-white-blue part of Madrid, Dimitri Payet from West Ham with his impeccable free kicks, one of which the Russian national team has already tried on himself in a friendly match, Kingsley Coman revealed in Bayern , once rejected by Juventus, and Paul Pogba, who is the team leader in the same Juve. Everything is in order in France and with the support zone, where Moussa Sissoko, Morgan Schneiderlin, the strenuous Blaise Matuidi and Leicester City's N'Golo Kante, who was recognized by the players of the sensational English champion as the best in the team, and about whom the fans say that two third of our planet is covered with water, everything else is covered by Kante.Questions are raised only at the very edge of the attack, where the challenge of Andre-Pierre Gignac, who was overgrown with dust in the Mexican championship, looks like an unexpected creature. Manchester United youth Anthony Martial, Gignac is unlikely to get much playing time at the Euro.
Way to the Euro
The French team got to the European Championship before anyone else - at the moment when the name of the host country of the tournament was announced. Instead of the qualifying round, Didier Deschamps' team played friendly matches. Many believe that such a regime has a bad effect on the team, but the other, golden French squad has already refuted this postulate once at the home World Cup in 1998. The balance of games in 2015 for the “tricolors” turned out to be rather mediocre - with six victories, the team suffered four defeats from Brazil, Belgium, England and even Albania. However, it should be noted that, among others, the national teams of Portugal and Germany, the current world champion, were replayed. In 2016, France held four control meetings and won each of them, showing quite productive football. No one conceded less than three goals from the “tricolors” – with a score of 3:2, the Netherlands were beaten, Deschamps' wards and Russia (4:2), Cameroon (3:2) and Scotland (3:0) were defeated.Main coach
Didier Deschamps joined the French national team after the 2012 European Championship, led it to the World Cup, where, having won the subgroup and passed to the 1/8 finals of the Nigerian national team, the "tricolors" retired at the quarterfinal stage, losing to the future world champions from Germany - 0:1. In relation to the current European Championship, Deschamps managed to become a newsmaker even before the start of the tournament, refusing to call up Mathieu Valbuen and Karim Benzema, who were involved in the scandal with the video recording, to the national team, and also, to the heap, who spent a great season at Nice, Hatem Ben Arf, for which was awarded the title of "racist" by Benzema. In addition, Deschamps did not take Liverpool defender Mohammed Sako to the Euro. The footballer was accused of doping, but the charges were subsequently dropped, but Deschamps said that he had already chosen a replacement for Sako and had no moral right to remove another footballer (Samuel Umtiti from Lyon, who is claimed by Barcelona) from the squad in order to return to the amnestied team.History of performances at the Euro
The French team is a regular in the final tournaments of the European Championships and a fighter who knows how to play well at home. We have already mentioned the victory at the 1998 World Cup, but there was also a domestic triumph at the Euro - in 1984, a generation of football players led by Michel Platini brought the country its first international success. The second French victory at the Continental Forum was in 2000, when David Trezeguet scored in extra time against Italy in the final. In 1996, the French team reached the semi-finals, and this is their third best result in the history of performances at the European Championships.Main star
There are many really cool and star players in France, but the main star of the national team after the club season has ended is to recognize the Atlético winger Antoine Griezmann, who led the "mattress" for the season behind him, bringing him to third place in the example (in a fierce struggle with " Barcelona" and "Real") and the Champions League final, where the "athletes" lost to the same "Real" only in the penalty shootout. By the way, in that match, Griezmann did not score a penalty kick in the second half. AT this season Only in the championship of Spain, Griezmann scored 22 goals, and in all tournaments he shot more than 30.Forecast
The French national team is considered one of the main, if not the main favorite of the Euro. This team has the potential to win the tournament, but the group with Romania, Alabania and Switzerland will definitely not be an obstacle on the way to the playoffs. We can almost say with absolute certainty that we will see the hosts in the later stages of the Euro, and we will try to predict their victory in the continental forum.The first European Football Championship among national teams took place largely thanks to the initiative of the first secretary of UEFA, Frenchman Henri Delaunay. 17 teams took part in the tournament, which was held according to the Olympic system, while many status teams, such as England, Italy, Germany, Sweden, refused to play, citing the workload of the players in the clubs. The semi-finals and the decisive match took place in France. In the final match, the national teams of Yugoslavia, which was stronger than the hosts in 1/2, and the USSR, which defeated Czechoslovakia, met. Regular time ended in a draw 1:1, and in overtime the victory for the Soviet team, and with it the title of the first European Champion, was brought by striker Viktor Ponedelnik.
The second European Championship significantly expanded the number of participants - this time 29 teams entered the fight for the trophy. Like four years earlier, four teams made it to the final stage. In addition to the hosts of the Spaniards, the teams of the USSR, Hungary and Denmark reached the semi-finals. If the Soviet team had practically no problems in confronting the Danes, then Spain had to work hard to break the resistance of Hungary. However, an additional 30 minutes of play in the semi-final did not prevent Furia Roja from winning the final match. The decisive blow to the gates of the USSR national team with a score of 1: 1 at the end of the game was delivered by Marcelino.
During the third European Championship, the organizers changed the system of the tournament. 31 participants were divided into eight groups, the winners of which advanced to the playoffs. The final stage this time was hosted by Italy, which was made up of England, the USSR and Yugoslavia. In the match between the hosts and the Soviet national team, the final whistle of the referee fixed the score 0:0. Since at that time the penalty shoot-out had not yet been invented, the winner had to be determined by lot, which was favorable to the Italian team. In the other pair, Yugoslavia turned out to be stronger, which, however, could not oppose anything to the hosts in the final - the goals of Luigi Riva and Pietro Anastasi made Italy the third European champion.
The final stage of Euro 1972 was held in Belgium, which, like the rest of the teams, passed the sieve group stage and the first round of the playoffs and advanced to the semi-finals. A step away from the main match, the Belgians were stopped by the German national team, which included Franz Beckenbauer, Günther Netzer and Gerd Müller. It was the latter who predetermined the outcome of the match, scoring two goals. In the second semi-final, the USSR national team defeated Hungary thanks to an accurate strike by Anatoly Konkov. In the final, however, the struggle did not work out - Muller, who was recognized best player tournament, scored twice against Dynamo Kyiv goalkeeper Yevgeny Rudakov, another goal was scored by Herbert Wimmer.
The fifth European Championship was the last in which final part Only four teams came out. For the first time, the USSR national team did not appear in the semi-finals; Yugoslavia, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia and Germany were supposed to play the title at the stadiums in Zagreb and Belgrade. Despite the presence of such stars as Cruyff and Neskens, the Dutch lost to the Czechs in overtime. Extra time was also needed for another semi-final - here Yugoslavia led 2-0, but lost the advantage and eventually lost, conceding three goals from Gerd Müller. The Euro 1976 final went down in history as the first match in the tournament to feature a penalty shoot-out. In regular time, the Germans were saved thanks to a goal by Helzenbein in the 90th minute, but in the football lottery, the players of the Czechoslovak team had stronger nerves. The decisive blow was struck by Antonin Panenka, after whom the penalty kick was later named, broken by a “soft” blow to the center of the goal.
Euro 1980 was somewhat revolutionary - UEFA decided to expand the composition of the final stage to eight teams, which included the seven winners of the qualifying groups and Italy as the host of the tournament. The national teams were divided into two subgroups, the winners of which went straight to the final, and the teams that took second place played a match for third place. In quartet A, the German national team scored more than other points, beating Czechoslovakia and the Netherlands, and also tied with Greece. The best of Quartet B were the Belgians, who had enough victory over Spain and draws with Italy and England to reach the final. The hero of the decisive game was the forward of the German national team Horst Hrubesch, who scored one of the the best goalkeepers of that time, Jean-Marie Pfaffu had two balls.
The 1984 European Championship was a triumph for the French team, which hosted the tournament. The system of holding the championship has again undergone changes - now two teams left the group, which got into the semi-finals. In Group A, Denmark, Yugoslavia and Belgium were unable to compete with France, with the Danes finishing second. Portugal and Spain advanced from Group B to the top four, leaving Romania and Germany out of the competition. In the semi-finals, France only put the squeeze on Portugal in overtime, and Spain was able to defeat Denmark in the penalty shoot-out. In the final game, the hosts brought the victory to Bruno Bellon and Michel Platini. By the way, the future president of UEFA set a unique achievement - he scored nine goals in all five matches of his team's tournament.
After long break the USSR national team again made it to the final part of the continental championship. The team, which was based on Dynamo Kyiv players, led by Valeriy Lobanovskiy, defeated the Dutch and the English in the group stage, and also tied with the Irish. The second in quartet B was the Netherlands team. In a parallel course, Italy and the hosts of the championship, the German team, reached the semi-finals. In the first game for reaching the final, the Dutch got a strong-willed victory over the Germans, and the next day the USSR national team beat Squadra Azura. As a result, the Cup went to the Netherlands team, which scored twice against the Soviet team in the decisive game. At the same time, Marco van Basten's goal was recognized as one of the best in the history of the European Championships.
The European Championship, which will forever remain in the history of football as an example of romance and miracle. The crown went to the sensational Danish team, who learned about their participation in the tournament only a few days before it began. Yugoslavs for political reasons were excluded from the competition, and it was the Danes who took their place.
Also noteworthy is the participation in the Euro of the CIS team - the successor of the team from the USSR. This tournament is the last, in the final part of which only eight teams took part. The sensational Danes were up against the reigning world champions in the final, but the Bundesteam could do nothing with Peter Schmeichel and company.
The tenth anniversary European Championship, which was held in England, was won by the German team. The opening of this tournament was the Czechs, who made it to the playoffs, and then to the finals of the forum from the same group as the Germans (Germany - the first, the Czech Republic - the second).
The last Euro victor - the Danish team - did not even leave the group. It was at the 1996 European Championships that the golden goal rule was first used. However, the innovation worked only in the final match, when Oliver Birkoff hit the gates of the Czech national team in the 96th minute. In the previous stages of the playoffs, only two matches ended in regular time (in the quarterfinals, the Germans beat the Croats, and the Czechs - the Portuguese). The remaining couples determined the winner through a penalty shootout.
The first ever tournament hosted by two countries - Belgium and Holland. The forum is also notable for the fact that it was the first time that the rule for the cancellation of yellow and red cards after the group stage was applied. The initial stage of the tournament brought several sensations: the British and Germans did not leave the group. The Czechs and the co-hosts of the tournament, the Belgians, also failed.
The quarter-final was remembered for the destruction of the Yugoslavs by the players of the Holland national team - 6:1. However, representatives of the country of tulips were forced to withdraw from the race in the semi-finals, losing main match Italian tournament. There, in the finale, a real drama took place. Dino Zoff's team, through Delvecchio's efforts, opened the scoring at the 55th turn of the second hand and held the lead until the third added minute. And when it seemed that the Italians would become champions, Sylvain Wiltord scored a saving goal for the French. And already in extra time, the suppressed Italians missed the “golden goal” from David Trezeguet.
Greece, phenomenal Greece. Until now, Otto Rehagel's team is cited as an example of endurance, organization, determination and discipline. The hosts, the Portuguese, were quite confident in the playoff bracket, while the Greeks got strained, inconspicuous (from the point of view of the winners' game) victories over France and the Czech Republic.
In the final, of course, everyone counted on the victory of the Portuguese, especially since the “European Brazilians” owed the Hellenes a favor for their defeat in the group stage. But, like a few weeks earlier, it was the Greek team that turned out to be more successful. The goal of Angelos Charisteas shocked the entire football Europe.
Tournament in Austria and Switzerland. It was with him that the golden era of the Spanish national team began. Luis Aragonés, even before the start of the European Championship, was subjected to serious criticism due to the decision not to include one of the most bright stars Spanish football Raul Gonzalez. But after final whistle Italian Roberto Rosetti, who recorded the victory of the Spaniards 1:0 over the Germans
in the European Championship final, the skeptics subsided. The Spaniards and without Raul had someone to score. top scorer of the tournament was David Villa, Fernando Torres also performed well (for all previous misses, El Nino was rehabilitated accurate strikes against Jens Lehmann) and Daniel Guisa. The time has come for the total dominance of the Spanish national team.
For the first time in history, the European Championship has moved so deep into the East of the European continent. Ukraine and Poland received the right to host matches of the forum and Donetsk, in which five fights were played, became the easternmost city that has ever hosted Euro fights. But Donetsk did not become happy for the Ukrainian team.
At the Donbass Arena, Oleg Blokhin's team lost to the French and the British, and therefore the victory over the Swedes in Kyiv (two phenomenal goals by Andriy Shevchenko) was completely worthless. One of the main sensations of the tournament was, perhaps, the semifinal victory of the Italians over the Germans. These were the moments of glory of the odious Mario Balotelli. But in the final, the Italians could not oppose anything to the heavy-duty Spaniards - a 0-4 defeat.
For the third time in history, the European Championship was held on the fields of France. A historic tournament, because for the first time since its foundation, 24 teams took part in the final part of the EURO. Thanks to the reform carried out by football officials, teams from Albania, Hungary and Northern Ireland, exotic for such a level, got a chance to join the holiday.
Made a breakthrough and Wales with Iceland. And the respected Netherlands, on the contrary, were left out of the competition. For the first time, Ukraine also passed through the sieve of selection for the Euro (after all, in 2012 we took part in the tournament as co-hosts of the competition). However, directly in France, the team of Mikhail Fomenko failed.
The Ukrainians lost all the matches in the group, and the teams of Iceland and Wales became the opening of the tournament. The latter reached the semi-finals, where he lost to the future winner of the Portuguese national team. Most believe that France deserved to win the tournament, but the Game judged differently.
And again, 24 teams in the final part of the EURO, but now the qualifying grid has changed. Instead of the playoffs of the third places of the qualifying groups, the organizers arranged an additional competition for the not-unsuccessful participants of the League of Nations.
However, the main novelty took place in the plane of geography - 12 teams at once received the right to be called the hosts of the tournament. Accordingly, almost half of the distribution of teams into groups became known even before the draw for the final part.
For the first time, the Finnish national team was selected for the Euro, and for the first time football dwarfs like Kosovo or Georgia got the opportunity to get there. For the first time, the tournament will use the VAR system. And for the first time in the Euro directly (without the playoffs or automatic tickets) the Ukrainian team was selected. Shevchenko's wards had a powerful qualification, leaving behind the reigning European champions.
Euro 2016: What you need to know about the French team
Photos from open sources
site presents the French national team at Euro 2016
The French Football Federation has been a member of FIFA since 1904 and a member of UEFA since 1954. The French were one of the founders of both organizations. France is a two-time European champion (1984 and 2000) and world champion in 1998.
Nicknames- "blue", "tricolor".
Main coach— Didier Deschamps.
Photos from open sources
STATISTICS OF THE FRENCH TEAM PERFORMANCE AT THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Matches - 134
Wins - 74 (55.2%)
Draws - 34 (25.4%)
Losses - 26 (19.4%)
Scored - 255 goals (1.90 goals per match)
Missed - 124 goals (0.93 goals per match)
HOW THE FRENCH TEAM PERFORMED AT THE WCH AND EURO IN THE XXI CENTURY
World Championship 2002 (achievement - group). Tournament in Japan South Korea the French arrived as current world and European champions, but suffered a brutal fiasco and left the world championship after the group stage, losing three out of three matches and not scoring a single goal.
European Championship 2004 (1/4 finals). At the tournament in Portugal, the French excelled in their group (+2 = 1-0), where their rivals were the British, Croats and Swiss, but stumbled at the 1/4 final stage, losing to the future champion of Greece (0:1).
World Championship 2006 (final). At the tournament in Germany, the “tricolors” reached the final, where they lost the title to the Italian national team only on penalties. On the way to the decisive match in the playoffs, the French beat Spain (3:1), the reigning world champions Brazil (1:0) and Portugal (1:0).
European Championship 2008 (group). Having got into the "group of death" at the preliminary stage of the final stage - together with the national teams of Holland and Italy, France lost to both competitors and, having scored the only point in the meeting with Romania, nominated for the role of the whipping boy, closed the table.
World Championship 2010 (group). Nothing foreshadowed trouble, but France again failed the group stage, finishing in last place. The Tricolors initially drew with Uruguay (0:0), but then lost to Mexico (0:2) and sensationally lost to the host of the competition, the South African team (1:2).
European Championship 2012 (1/4 finals). At the previous Euro, the French team got into the same group with England, one of the hosts of the tournament, Ukraine and the Swedish team, where they eventually became the second (1:1 with England, 2:0 with Ukraine and 0:2 with Sweden). And in the quarterfinals, the "tricolor" lost to Spain - 0:2.
World Championship 2014 (1/4 finals). At the Brazilian World Cup, France easily won their group, defeating Honduras 3:0, Switzerland 5:2 and breaking the world with Ecuador - 0:0. In the 1/8 finals, the French defeated Nigeria (2:0), but in the quarterfinals they laid down their arms in front of the future title holder Germany (0:1).
HOW THE FRENCH TEAM PASSED THE EURO 2016 qualifying round
As the host nation of Euro 2016, the French team was exempted from qualifying.
FRANCE FRIENDLY MATCHES IN 2016
25.03 Holland - France - 2: 3
29.03 France - Russia - 4: 2
30.05 France - Cameroon - 3:2
04.06 France - Scotland - 3:0
Squad for EURO 2016
Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Steve Mandanda (Marseille), Benoît Costil (Rennes)
Defenders: Lucas Digne (Roma), Patrice Evra (Juventus), Christophe Jallet (Lyon), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Elyakim Mangala (Manchester City), Samuel Umtiti (Lyon), Bakary Sanya (Manchester City), Adil Rami (Seville).
Midfielders: Johan Cabaye (Crystal Palace), Morgan Schneiderlin (Manchester United), N'Golo Kante (Leicester), Blaise Matuidi (PSG), Paul Pogba (Juventus), Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle).
Forwards: Kingsey Coman (Juventus), Andre-Pierre Gignac (Tigres), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico), Anthony Martial (Man. United), Dimitri Payet (West Ham).
INDICATIVE COMPOSITION
TACTICS
Deschamps is sticking to a proven 4-3-3 formation, with Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kante and Blaise Matuidi forming a balanced and powerful link in midfield, while Anthony Martial and Dimitri Payet vie for the right to form an attacking trio with Griezmann and Giroud. The Tricolors love to control the ball and attack, but concede a lot of goals. This was once again confirmed in friendly matches against the Netherlands, Russia and even Cameroon, in which the hosts of EURO 2016 scored ten goals and received six from opponents.
MAIN STAR
Antoine Griezmann(Atletico). In the season he played 4928 minutes, scored 34 goals, gave 6 assists.
Photos from open sources
EURO 2016 MATCH CALENDAR
HOW THE FRENCH TEAM PLAYED OPPONENTS IN GROUP A
06/10/2016 (Saint-Denis). France - Romania
Matches - 17
Wins - 8
Draws - 5
Losses - 4
Goals scored - 23
Goals conceded - 16
Biggest win - 4:0
Most major defeat - 3:6
The most productive match - 3:6
The most productive draw - 2:2
Photos from open sources
France has a series of ten matches without defeat in meetings with Romania (+5=5-0): in last time The Romanians beat the French in qualifying tournament for the 1976 Olympics. However, of the five previous matches between the teams, four ended in a draw. And all of them were official, not friendly. Thus, over the past eight years, France played a 0-0 draw with Romania in the group stage of Euro 2008, twice broke the world with it in the 2010 World Cup qualifying cycle (2:2 a, 1:1 h), defeated an opponent in the home qualifying match of Euro 2012 (2:0) and tied away (0:0).
06/15/2016 (Marseille). France - Albania
Matches - 6
Wins - 4
Draws - 1
Losses - 1
Goals scored - 12
Goals conceded - 3
Biggest win - 5:0
Biggest defeat - 0:1
Most productive match - 5:0
Photos from open sources
France and Albania have played each other four qualifying and two friendly matches. In the qualifying tournaments for Euro 1992 and Euro 2012, the French won four out of four matches against the Albanians, but in two friendly matches that took place recently, they lost points. In 2014, France played with Albania at home 1:1, and in 2015 they completely lost to it on the road 0:1.
06/19/2016 (Lille). France - Switzerland
Matches - 39
Wins - 18
Draws - 9
Losses - 12
Goals scored - 70
Goals conceded - 61
Biggest win - 4:0
Biggest defeat - 2:6
The most productive match - 2:6
Photos from open sources
Two years ago at the World Cup in Brazil, France defeated Switzerland 5-2. In all official matches (qualifiers or finals) of the World, European and Olympic Games, of which there were seven between them in the entire history, the French did not concede to the Swiss even once. True, the “tricolors” had fewer victories than draws (+3=4-0). By the way, the aforementioned defeat at the 2014 World Cup is, of course, impressive, but a little earlier, France and Switzerland played 0: 0 at the group stage of the 2006 World Cup in Germany and twice broke the world in qualifying matches for the final stage of the same tournament (0: 0 and 1:1).
HOW THE FRENCH TEAM PLAYED OPPOSITES IN THE PLAY OFFS
06/26/2016 (Lyon). France - Ireland
Matches - 17
Wins - 6
Draws - 6
Losses - 5
Goals scored - 19
Goals conceded - 18
Biggest win - 5:3, 2:0
Biggest defeat - 0:3
The most productive match - 5:3
Most scoring draw - 1:1
France have not lost to Ireland in their previous five matches, winning twice and drawing three times. Ireland last beat France in 1981. Only four goals have been scored in the last five matches between these teams. The last time the teams met was in the play-off of the World Cup in South Africa. Then the team of Raymond Domenech went further, winning the first match with a score of 1:0 and drawing (1:1) in the second.
07/03/2016 (Saint-Denis). France - Iceland
Matches - 13
Wins - 9
Draws - 4
Losses - 0
Goals scored - 31
Goals conceded - 8
Biggest win - 8:0
Biggest defeat - no
The most productive match - 8:0
Most scoring draw - 1:1
Photos from open sources
France have never lost to Iceland in 13 previous meetings: nine wins and four draws with a goal difference of 31:8. The last time the teams met was on May 27, 2012 in a friendly match. The French team won a strong-willed victory in Valenciennes - 3:2. After the break, Laurent Blanc's wards responded to goals from Birkir Bjarnason and Kolbein Sigthorsson with accurate shots from Mathieu Debuchy, Franck Ribery and Adil Rami. France qualified for their winning UEFA EURO 2000 by beating the Icelanders 3-2 at the Stade de France in October 1999. The decisive goal shortly after coming on as a substitute was scored by David Trezeguet. Iceland have lost all six away matches to France on a goal difference of 5:22.
07/07/2016 (Marseille). Germany - France
Matches - 12
Wins - 6
Draws - 2
Losses - 4
Goals scored - 15
Goals conceded - 14
Biggest win - 3:0
Biggest defeat - 0:4
Most productive match - 3:3
The most productive draw - 3:3
Photos from open sources
The history of football meetings between France and Germany has a lot of meetings. If we take into account only the German national team, then 12 matches were played between them: 6 victories for the French national team, 4 victories for the German national team and 2 games ended in a draw. 4 of these matches were played between 1931 and 1937. The French team met with the German national team 17 times: 7 victories for France, 5 victories for Germany, 5 matches were played in a draw. Goal difference: 30:30. France played with the GDR national team 8 times: the French won 2 times, East German football players won 4 times and 2 games ended in a draw. Goal difference: 11:8 in favor of the GDR.
EURO TEAM KIT
Photos from open sources
DO YOU KNOW THAT...
France is among the three teams that have won the European Championship more than once. The “tricolors” have two titles, while the German and Spanish teams have three each.
FORECAST 112.U.A.
France has a special place in world football. Of course, the British are rightfully the founders of football, but it was the French who put forward the idea of holding the World Cup and the European Football Championships.
And thanks to the ideas of Henri Delaunay, we have the opportunity to watch the battles of the strongest teams of the Old World.
As for the French national team, it tries not to let down its outstanding compatriots and has been one of the leading teams in the world for decades.
History of the French national football team
World Championships
Achievements
- World Champion 1998, 2018.
- Silver medalist of the 2006 World Cup.
- Bronze medalist at the 1958 and 1986 World Championships.
Pre-war world championships
Since we are talking about personalities in football, I note that it was the Frenchman who scored the first goal at the World Cup - Lucien Laurent hit the gates of the Mexican national team and the French won their debut match at the first World Cup 4:1. However, subsequent defeats against Argentina and Chile prevented them from reaching the second stage of the tournament.
On the distant approaches to the final match, the French team also stopped at the 1934 and 1938 World Cups, in the first case it was defeated by the Austrians, in the second by the current and future world champions - the Italians.
First success
France did not make it to the first post-war World Cup, but at the 1958 tournament for the first time it was in the prize-winners.
That French team was one of the best teams in the history of football: Raymond Kopa, Just Fontaine, Jean Vincent, Roger Piantoni simply tore apart the opponents' defense.
23 goals in 6 matches were scored by the French team at that World Cup and 13 of them were scored by Juste Fontaine. I don't think these records will ever be broken.
But the French were not lucky: it was the time of another, greater team, whose name is Brazil, and their confrontation in the semi-finals ended with the victory of the South American team 5:2. By the way, those very phenomenal Brazilians scored “only” 16 goals in that tournament, i.е. 7 less than the French.
Of the next five World Cups from 1962 to 1978, France was able to break through only two - in 1966 and 1978, where they failed to leave the group both times, while gaining only one victory and losing four matches.
The long patience of the French fans was rewarded in the 80s, when a generation of outstanding French players came to the fore, led by.
At the 1982 World Cup, the French reached the semi-finals, where in extra time the match with West Germany was 3:1. But the Germans managed to level the score and won on penalties. That match was marked by the infamous attack by the German goalkeeper Schumacher on the French national team player Battiston, when the latter was seriously injured, and the goalkeeper was not even shown a yellow card.
The "tricolors" lost the match for the third place to the Poles 2:3. True, the reserve came out on the field - coach Michel Hidalgo gave all the players who came to Spain to play. Four years later, in the 1/8 finals of the Mexican World Cup, France left out of work the current world champion - the team of Italy, and in the quarterfinals - the team of Brazil.
But then the French suffered the same fate as four years ago: again the semifinals, again the German national team, again defeat. True, this time the defeat is undeniable and well-deserved 0:2. But this time the reservists of the French team won the “small final” against the Belgian team 4:2.
Elimination failures
In the qualifying groups of the 1990 and 1994 World Championships, the French took 3rd place, and, accordingly, flew past the main tournament of the four years. Their failure in the fall of 1993 was especially memorable. Then the French team in the remaining two home matches needed to score only 1 point in order to go to the USA.
However, the French first lost 2:3 to the outsider of the group, Israel, leading 2:1 6 minutes before the end of the match, and then, also leading in the score, 1:2.
Long-awaited triumph
In 1998 the World Cup was held in France. The whole country expected victory from the French. The 1998 France national football team was a formidable force. Goalkeeper Fabien Barthez was able to save, it would seem, in any situation.
The line of defense and the support zone consisted of high-class performers - Laurent Blanc, Lilian Thuram, Bixent Lizarazu, Marcel Desilly, Didier Deschamps,. Responsible for organizing the attacking game and.
The only problem was with the strikers - Henri and Trezeguet were too young, in Givarsh and Dugarry, with all due respect to them, the players are far from being world class.
Nevertheless, the French were able to win, becoming, in fact, the only team that could win the World Cup without serious attackers. But the defense was at its best - in seven matches only two goals were conceded.
But the defenders of the French national team at that tournament became famous not only for the defense of their gates. Having won the group easily enough, the French were subjected to a monstrous test in every playoff match.
The match of the 1/8 finals with Paraguay, despite all the efforts of the French team players to score a goal, smoothly rolled to a goalless draw and a penalty shoot-out, in which the hosts looked by no means the favorites - after all, the Paraguayans' goal was defended by Jose Luis Chilavert, one of the best reflection specialists penalty. Only 6 minutes before the end of extra time, he came to the aid of his attackers, scoring a much-needed goal for France.
The penalty still had to be taken at the next stage in the match with Italy, and here the nerves did not let the players of the French team down.
In the semi-finals, the star Croatian team led for a long time after a goal by Davor Šuker, and again France was saved by the defender - he hit the gate twice and brought France to the final. It is noteworthy that in 142 matches played in the jersey of the national team, Thuram scored only 2 goals. And these are the goals!
European Championships
Achievements
- European Champion 1984, 2000.
- Silver medalist of the European Championship 2016.
- Bronze medalist of the European Championship 1996.
Home tournaments
The first European Championship, as you know, was held in France. But the French were not freed from qualifying matches and made their way to the tournament on a par with other teams.
However, the selection, which was then held according to the Olympic two-match system, did not cause any trouble for the star generation of Kop and Fontaine - Greece was beaten by the sum of two matches 8:2, and Austria 9:4.
It was also fun in the semi-finals, which then started the final tournament. By the 75th minute of the match with Yugoslavia, the French were leading 4:2 and were already looking forward to victory. However, in the remaining time, the Yugoslav football players hit the Lamia gate three times within four minutes and sent the French to the consolation final, which they safely lost to the Czechoslovak team 0:2.
In fairness, I note that neither Kopa nor Fontaine took part in the final stage of the Euro, having completed their performances for the national team by that time.
The next time this team was at the European Championship, which took place ... Where would you think? In France, in 1984! The fact is that the French team could not qualify for the five European Championships that separated these two tournaments.
Below I present a few interesting facts from the history of the French national team, but this one is generally amazing - two home Euros in a row! Moreover, taking into account Euro 2016, France took part in 9 final stages of the European Championship, of which every third was held at their home! Such a unique people.
As for the 1984 championship itself, then this was the era of Platini. The French easily and naturally won the home championship, setting several records along the way - victory in all matches of the tournament, 9 goals scored by Platini, which also differed in each match of the final part.
Between Platini and Zidane
It just so happened that all the successes of the French team at the World and European Championships are associated with the presence of great football players. The first such team was the team of Kop and Fontaine, the second - Platini, the third - Zidane.
France did not qualify for the 1988 European Championship, and in 1992 they failed to leave the group, losing the decisive match to the future champions, the Danish national team.
By the way, at that tournament the French team was coached by Michel Platini and in the selection the French won all the matches of the group, although they were opposed by such teams as Spain and Czechoslovakia.
Euro Breakthrough
The next international success is associated with the emergence of the Zidane generation. At the 1996 European Championships, France did not perform too brightly. Having taken first place in the group, the French played two goalless draws with the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, only they defeated the Dutch in a penalty shoot-out, but not the Czechs.
At the next European championship, the French arrived in the rank of world champion and the main contender, along with Holland, for the title. Ironically, the draw placed these two teams in the same group, adding the Czech Republic - the reigning European vice-champion and Denmark - the winner of the 1992 tournament.
Having beaten the Danes and Czechs, in last match of the group stage, the French lost 2:3 to the Dutch team and advanced to the ¼ finals from the second place. And again, as in the home World Cup, each match of the playoff stage could be the last for France. In the match with Spain, with the score 2:1 in favor of the French, a penalty kick was awarded in the 90th minute, but Raul canceled the overtime by launching the ball well above the gate.
In the semi-final with Portugal, extra time could not be avoided, and the French team had to recoup, and only three minutes before the end of extra time, Zidane scored the winning goal. He scored it from the penalty spot, and, frankly, the penalty is not indisputable.
Well, and that famous final with Italy, when Sylvain Wiltord was able to level the score only in stoppage time, and David Trezeguet scored the “golden goal” in extra time.
Latest tournaments
After that, the French team on European tournaments didn't make it past the quarter-finals. To justify her, one can only say that in 2004 and 2012 she was inferior to the future champions, respectively, Greece and Spain. And in 2008, under the leadership of the infamous Raymond Domenech, France did not leave the group at all, losing to Holland 1:4, Italy 0:2 and failing to beat the Romanians.
The 2016 European Championship, where the French once again acted as hosts, began for them with a strong-willed victory over the Romanians. Then the Albanian national team was defeated with difficulty - Griezmann opened the scoring only in the 90th minute of the meeting. And in the 1/8 finals, the Irish forced the French team to recoup - 2:1.
Only in the quarterfinals of the French, as they say, broke through 5:2 against the Icelandic team, and then a 2:0 victory over the main favorite of the championship - the German team. The favorite of the final match was definitely the French, but football once again denied all the pre-launch scenarios - the Portuguese team in extra time managed to score the only goal in the meeting.
French football players
Goalkeeper Hugo Luris - if he is in order, then you can not worry about the post number 1. He is the captain of the French national team. Steve Mandanda is always ready to replace him.
The defensive coaching staff has a good choice: Rafael Varane, Samuel Umtiti, Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Pavard, Kurt Zouma, Benjamin Mendy, Layven Kurzawa.
In the center of the field are Moussa Sissoko, Blaise Matuidi, Corentin Tolisso Lemar Thomas and, of course, N "Golo Kante and Paul Pogba.
The French attack also looks great - Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe are world-class players, there is also Anthony Martial, Kingsley Coman, Olivier Giroud and Alexandre Lacazette.
present tense
The current world champions are one of the main favorites for the European championship. 20 years ago, the French team in this status managed to win the European Championship. Why not repeat?
The first European Football Championship among national teams took place largely thanks to the initiative of the first secretary of UEFA, Frenchman Henri Delaunay. 17 teams took part in the tournament, which was held according to the Olympic system, while many status teams, such as England, Italy, Germany, Sweden, refused to play, citing the workload of the players in the clubs. The semi-finals and the decisive match took place in France. In the final match, the national teams of Yugoslavia, which was stronger than the hosts in 1/2, and the USSR, which defeated Czechoslovakia, met. Regular time ended in a draw 1:1, and in overtime the victory for the Soviet team, and with it the title of the first European Champion, was brought by striker Viktor Ponedelnik.
The second European Championship significantly expanded the number of participants - this time 29 teams entered the fight for the trophy. Like four years earlier, four teams made it to the final stage. In addition to the hosts of the Spaniards, the teams of the USSR, Hungary and Denmark reached the semi-finals. If the Soviet team had practically no problems in confronting the Danes, then Spain had to work hard to break the resistance of Hungary. However, an additional 30 minutes of play in the semi-final did not prevent Furia Roja from winning the final match. The decisive blow to the gates of the USSR national team with a score of 1: 1 at the end of the game was delivered by Marcelino.
During the third European Championship, the organizers changed the system of the tournament. 31 participants were divided into eight groups, the winners of which advanced to the playoffs. The final stage this time was hosted by Italy, which was made up of England, the USSR and Yugoslavia. In the match between the hosts and the Soviet national team, the final whistle of the referee fixed the score 0:0. Since at that time the penalty shoot-out had not yet been invented, the winner had to be determined by lot, which was favorable to the Italian team. In the other pair, Yugoslavia turned out to be stronger, which, however, could not oppose anything to the hosts in the final - the goals of Luigi Riva and Pietro Anastasi made Italy the third European champion.
The final stage of Euro 1972 was held in Belgium, which, like the rest of the teams, passed the group stage and the first round of the playoffs and reached the semi-finals. A step away from the main match, the Belgians were stopped by the German national team, which included Franz Beckenbauer, Günther Netzer and Gerd Müller. It was the latter who predetermined the outcome of the match, scoring two goals. In the second semi-final, the USSR national team defeated Hungary thanks to an accurate strike by Anatoly Konkov. In the final, however, the struggle did not work out - Muller, who was recognized as the best player of the tournament, scored twice against the goalkeeper of Kyiv "Dynamo" Yevgeny Rudakov, another goal was scored by Herbert Wimmer.
The fifth European Championship was the last one where only four teams reached the finals. For the first time, the USSR national team did not appear in the semi-finals; Yugoslavia, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia and Germany were supposed to play the title at the stadiums in Zagreb and Belgrade. Despite the presence of such stars as Cruyff and Neskens, the Dutch lost to the Czechs in overtime. Extra time was also needed for another semi-final - here Yugoslavia led 2-0, but lost the advantage and eventually lost, conceding three goals from Gerd Müller. The Euro 1976 final went down in history as the first match in the tournament to feature a penalty shoot-out. In regular time, the Germans were saved thanks to a goal by Helzenbein in the 90th minute, but in the football lottery, the players of the Czechoslovak team had stronger nerves. The decisive blow was struck by Antonin Panenka, after whom the penalty kick was later named, broken by a “soft” blow to the center of the goal.
Euro 1980 was somewhat revolutionary - UEFA decided to expand the composition of the final stage to eight teams, which included the seven winners of the qualifying groups and Italy as the host of the tournament. The national teams were divided into two subgroups, the winners of which went straight to the final, and the teams that took second place played a match for third place. In quartet A, the German national team scored more than other points, beating Czechoslovakia and the Netherlands, and also tied with Greece. The best of Quartet B were the Belgians, who had enough victory over Spain and draws with Italy and England to reach the final. The hero of the decisive game was the forward of the German national team Horst Hrubesh, who scored two goals against one of the best goalkeepers of that time, Jean-Marie Pfaff.
The 1984 European Championship was a triumph for the French team, which hosted the tournament. The system of holding the championship has again undergone changes - now two teams left the group, which got into the semi-finals. In Group A, Denmark, Yugoslavia and Belgium were unable to compete with France, with the Danes finishing second. Portugal and Spain advanced from Group B to the top four, leaving Romania and Germany out of the competition. In the semi-finals, France only put the squeeze on Portugal in overtime, and Spain was able to defeat Denmark in the penalty shoot-out. In the final game, the hosts brought the victory to Bruno Bellon and Michel Platini. By the way, the future president of UEFA set a unique achievement - he scored nine goals in all five matches of his team's tournament.
After a long break, the USSR national team again made its way to the final part of the continental championship. The team, which was based on Dynamo Kyiv players, led by Valeriy Lobanovskiy, defeated the Dutch and the English in the group stage, and also tied with the Irish. The second in quartet B was the Netherlands team. In a parallel course, Italy and the hosts of the championship, the German team, reached the semi-finals. In the first game for reaching the final, the Dutch got a strong-willed victory over the Germans, and the next day the USSR national team beat Squadra Azura. As a result, the Cup went to the Netherlands team, which scored twice against the Soviet team in the decisive game. At the same time, Marco van Basten's goal was recognized as one of the best in the history of the European Championships.
The European Championship, which will forever remain in the history of football as an example of romance and miracle. The crown went to the sensational Danish team, who learned about their participation in the tournament only a few days before it began. Yugoslavs for political reasons were excluded from the competition, and it was the Danes who took their place.
Also noteworthy is the participation in the Euro of the CIS team - the successor of the team from the USSR. This tournament is the last, in the final part of which only eight teams took part. The sensational Danes were up against the reigning world champions in the final, but the Bundesteam could do nothing with Peter Schmeichel and company.
The tenth anniversary European Championship, which was held in England, was won by the German team. The opening of this tournament was the Czechs, who made it to the playoffs, and then to the finals of the forum from the same group as the Germans (Germany - the first, the Czech Republic - the second).
The last Euro victor - the Danish team - did not even leave the group. It was at the 1996 European Championships that the golden goal rule was first used. However, the innovation worked only in the final match, when Oliver Birkoff hit the gates of the Czech national team in the 96th minute. In the previous stages of the playoffs, only two matches ended in regular time (in the quarterfinals, the Germans beat the Croats, and the Czechs - the Portuguese). The remaining couples determined the winner through a penalty shootout.
The first ever tournament hosted by two countries - Belgium and Holland. The forum is also notable for the fact that it was the first time that the rule for the cancellation of yellow and red cards after the group stage was applied. The initial stage of the tournament brought several sensations: the British and Germans did not leave the group. The Czechs and the co-hosts of the tournament, the Belgians, also failed.
The quarter-final was remembered for the destruction of the Yugoslavs by the players of the Holland national team - 6:1. However, representatives of the country of tulips were forced to withdraw from the race in the semi-finals, having missed the Italians in the main match of the tournament. There, in the finale, a real drama took place. Dino Zoff's team, through Delvecchio's efforts, opened the scoring at the 55th turn of the second hand and held the lead until the third added minute. And when it seemed that the Italians would become champions, Sylvain Wiltord scored a saving goal for the French. And already in extra time, the suppressed Italians missed the “golden goal” from David Trezeguet.
Greece, phenomenal Greece. Until now, Otto Rehagel's team is cited as an example of endurance, organization, determination and discipline. The hosts, the Portuguese, were quite confident in the playoff bracket, while the Greeks got strained, inconspicuous (from the point of view of the winners' game) victories over France and the Czech Republic.
In the final, of course, everyone counted on the victory of the Portuguese, especially since the “European Brazilians” owed the Hellenes a favor for their defeat in the group stage. But, like a few weeks earlier, it was the Greek team that turned out to be more successful. The goal of Angelos Charisteas shocked the entire football Europe.
Tournament in Austria and Switzerland. It was with him that the golden era of the Spanish national team began. Luis Aragones has come under fire before the start of the European Championship because of the decision not to include one of the brightest stars of Spanish football, Raul Gonzalez, in the application. But after the final whistle of the Italian Roberto Rosetti, who recorded the victory of the Spaniards 1:0 over the Germans
in the European Championship final, the skeptics subsided. The Spaniards and without Raul had someone to score. David Villa became the top scorer of the tournament, Fernando Torres also performed well (for all previous misses, El Nino was rehabilitated with accurate shots against Jens Lehmann) and Daniel Guiza. The time has come for the total dominance of the Spanish national team.
For the first time in history, the European Championship has moved so deep into the East of the European continent. Ukraine and Poland received the right to host matches of the forum and Donetsk, in which five fights were played, became the easternmost city that has ever hosted Euro fights. But Donetsk did not become happy for the Ukrainian team.
At the Donbass Arena, Oleg Blokhin's team lost to the French and the British, and therefore the victory over the Swedes in Kyiv (two phenomenal goals by Andriy Shevchenko) was completely worthless. One of the main sensations of the tournament was, perhaps, the semifinal victory of the Italians over the Germans. These were the moments of glory of the odious Mario Balotelli. But in the final, the Italians could not oppose anything to the heavy-duty Spaniards - a 0-4 defeat.
For the third time in history, the European Championship was held on the fields of France. A historic tournament, because for the first time since its foundation, 24 teams took part in the final part of the EURO. Thanks to the reform carried out by football officials, teams from Albania, Hungary and Northern Ireland, exotic for such a level, got a chance to join the holiday.
Made a breakthrough and Wales with Iceland. And the respected Netherlands, on the contrary, were left out of the competition. For the first time, Ukraine also passed through the sieve of selection for the Euro (after all, in 2012 we took part in the tournament as co-hosts of the competition). However, directly in France, the team of Mikhail Fomenko failed.
The Ukrainians lost all the matches in the group, and the teams of Iceland and Wales became the opening of the tournament. The latter reached the semi-finals, where he lost to the future winner of the Portuguese national team. Most believe that France deserved to win the tournament, but the Game judged differently.
And again, 24 teams in the final part of the EURO, but now the qualifying grid has changed. Instead of the playoffs of the third places of the qualifying groups, the organizers arranged an additional competition for the not-unsuccessful participants of the League of Nations.
However, the main novelty took place in the plane of geography - 12 teams at once received the right to be called the hosts of the tournament. Accordingly, almost half of the distribution of teams into groups became known even before the draw for the final part.
For the first time, the Finnish national team was selected for the Euro, and for the first time football dwarfs like Kosovo or Georgia got the opportunity to get there. For the first time, the tournament will use the VAR system. And for the first time in the Euro directly (without the playoffs or automatic tickets) the Ukrainian team was selected. Shevchenko's wards had a powerful qualification, leaving behind the reigning European champions.