The France national team of football was established in 1904 at the time of FIFA's founding on the 21st of May 1904 and played its first official international game 1 May 1904 with Belgium in Brussels and resulted in a draw of 3-3. The next year, on 12 february 1905 France played their very first home game against Switzerland. The match was played in the Parc des Princes in front of 500 spectators. France defeated the game by 1-0, with the sole goal scored by Gaston Cypres. Because of differences among FIFA with the Union des Societes Francaises de Sports Athletiques (USFSA), the national sports association, France struggled to establish an identity. On the 9th of May 1908 The French Interfederal Committee (CFI) an organization that was a competitor to the USFSA was ruled that FIFA was now accountable for the appearances of the club in the coming Olympic Games and not the USFSA. In 1919 the year 1919, the CFI changed into The French Football Federation (FFF). In 1921 the USFSA eventually joined the FFF.
In the month of July, 1930 France took part in the first FIFA World Cup, held in Uruguay. In their first World Cup match, France defeated Mexico 4-1 at the Estadio Pocitos in Montevideo. Lucien Laurent became notable in the game as he scored the first France World Cup goal, but the first goal in World Cup history. In contrast, France also became the first team not to score in a game after losing 1-0 against fellow group stage rivals Argentina. Another defeat to Chile led to the team losing out in the stage of group. The following year saw the very first selection of a player from the black community to be a member of the National team. Raoul Diagne, who was of Senegalese descent, received the first national cap the 15th of February with a 2-1 loss to Czechoslovakia. Diagne then played for the team during 1938's World Cup, alongside Larbi Benbarek, one of the very first players from North African origin to play for the national team. In 1934, at the World Cup, France suffered loss in the first round, losing 3-2 against Austria. When the team returned to Paris they were welcomed as heroes by crowds of more than 4,000 fans. France was host to the 1938 World Cup and reached the quarterfinals, but fell 3-1 to champions Italy.
In the 1950s, France presented with their initial Golden Generation composed of players like Just Fontaine, Raymond Kopa, Jean Vincent, Robert Jonquet, Maryan Wisnieski, Thadee Cisowski as well as Armand Penverne. In 1958, at the World Cup, France reached the semi-finals, but fell to Brazil. In the third place match, France defeated West Germany by 6-3, with Fontaine scoring four goals that brought his goal total during the tournament to 13, which is a World Cup record. This record is still in place. France hosted the first UEFA European Football Championship in 1960, and for the second consecutive international competition, reached the semi-finals. In the first round, France faced Yugoslavia and were astonished 5-4, despite being in the lead 4-2 going into in the 75th minute. In the third-place game, France was defeated 2-0 by the Czechoslovakians.
The decade of the 1960s and 1970s saw France slide significantly under various managers and not qualifying for a number of international tournaments. On April 25, 1964 Henri Guerin was officially named the team's inaugural manager. In the time of Guerin, France failed to get into in 1962 for the World Cup and the 1964 European Nations Cup. However, the team returned to major international matches following their qualification to play in the 1966 World Cup. The team was eliminated at the stage group during the event. Guerin was dismissed following this World Cup. Guerin was replaced with Jose Arribas and Jean Snella who served as caretaker managers with dual roles. They only played for four games and were then later replaced by the ex-international Just Fontaine, who only last two matches. Louis Dugauguez succeeded Fontaine and after his initial struggles with qualifying to the 1970 World Cup, was fired and was replaced with Georges Boulogne, who could not bring the team into the tournament. Boulogne was fired after his inability to make it to his team for the 1974 World Cup and was replaced by Romanian Stefan Kovacs, who was the sole international manager ever to oversee Romania's national side. Kovacs was also able to be a disappointment , failing to make it through his 1974 World Cup and UEFA Euro 1976. After two years of his tenure the club, he was fired and replaced by Michel Hidalgo.
In the era of Hidalgo, France flourished, mostly due to the praises of outstanding players such as defensive players Marius Tresor and Maxime Bossis and the striker Dominique Rocheteau and midfielder Michel Platini who, together with Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse and Luis Fernandez formed the "carre magica" ("Magic Square") and was a nightmare for defenses that were in opposition in 1982 at the World Cup, where France reached the semi-finals but fell through penalties to their adversaries West Germany. The semi-final game is considered to be one of the most memorable matches of World Cup history and was marked by controversy. France won their first major international honour the following year, when they won Euro 1984, which they hosted. Under the direction of Platini who scored high of nine goals at the tournament, France defeated Spain 2-0 in the final. Platini as well as Bruno Bellone scored the goals. After the Euro victory, Hidalgo departed the team and was replaced by the former national Henri Michel. France then completed the three-peat when they claimed medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics soccer tournament. They also one year later, defeated Uruguay 2 to 1 to win the Artemio Franchi Trophy. This was an early prelude to the FIFA Confederations Cup. Dominique Rocheteau and Jose Toure scored the goals. Over the course of one time, France had three important international trophy. In 1986, at the World Cup, France were most likely to win and for the second time in succession, World Cup, reached the semi-finals in which they had to face West Germany. However, once again, they were defeated. A victory of 4-2 against Belgium brought France third position.
In 1988 In 1988, the FFF inaugurated in 1988 the Clairefontaine National Football Institute. The ceremony that opened it was attended by the president of France, Francois Mitterrand. After five months of Clairefontaine's opening the director Henri Michel was fired and was replaced by Michel Platini, who failed to take this team into in the 90 World Cup. Platini did manage this team into Euro 1992 and, despite being on a 19-match winless streak in the lead-up to the tournament and being eliminated during the stage of group play. One week after the end of the tournament Platini was dismissed as the manager and succeeded by assistant Gerard Houllier. under Houllier, France and its supporters went through a heartbreaking saga following the fact that they had their qualification for the 1994 World Cup all but secured with only two games left that were against last-place Israel as well as Bulgaria. In the game with Israel, France was upset with a score of 3-2. In the Bulgaria game, it suffered an unimaginably low score of 2-1. The following public outcry and blame resulted in the dismissal of Houllier and the departure of several athletes from France's national to join the fold. Houllier's deputy Aime Jacquet was promoted to the job.
Under Jacquet the national team had its glory years. The team of veterans who did not make it to the 1994 FIFA World Cup were joined by talented youngsters like Zinedine Zidane. The team had a great start making it to the semi-finals of Euro 1996, where they were defeated 6-5 by penalties against the Czech Republic. In the subsequent major tournament, the 1998 World Cup at home, Jacquet was the captain who led France to glory by defeating Brazil 3-1 during the championship match in the Stade de France in Paris. Jacquet quit after France's World Cup triumph and was succeeded by assistant Roger Lemerre who guided them through Euro 2000. The team was led by FIFA World Player of the Year Zidane, France defeated Italy with a 2-1 win during the championship. David Trezeguet scored the golden goal in the extra-time period. The team was awarded an honor of becoming the very first team in France to win both the World Cup and Euro titles since West Germany did so in 1974. It is also the very first time an incumbent World Cup winner went on to win the Euro. In the wake of the victory that day, France was able to claim the title. France nation was promoted into the top spot within the FIFA World Rankings.
France was unable to keep that speed in subsequent tournaments. Even though the team was victorious at their first FIFA Confederations Cup, France lost in the first round at the 2002 World Cup. One of the biggest shocks during World Cup history saw France be beaten 1-0 against debutants Senegal during the first match at the World Cup. France was the second country to lose in the first round while also holding the World Cup crown, the first was Brazil back in the year 1966. Following the 2010 2014 as well as the 2018 World Cups, Italy, Spain and Germany were added to the list. Following the fact that France ended up last in their group Lemerre got dismissed, and replaced with Jacques Santini. A fully-strength squad started well in Euro 2004, but they were defeated in the quarterfinals by eventual winner Greece. Santini was fired as coach, as well Raymond Domenech was picked as his successor. France suffered in the beginning qualifying matches to qualify for 2005 World Cup. This led Domenech to convince a number of former players to leave international retirement to aid the team to qualify after an impressive 4-0 victory against Cyprus on the last day for qualifying. At the time of 2006's World Cup final stages, France won without a loss in the group stage stage and progressed to the final, defeating such as Spain, Brazil, and Portugal in the process. France faced Italy during the championship match and partly due to the controversy over disruptions in extra time, which led to the captain Zinedine Zidane being exiled and failing to score an effective goal. Italy won 5-3 in penalties to win the title of World Cup champions.
France began their qualification round to Euro 2008 strong and qualified for the tournament with two losses to Scotland. France was eliminated during the group stage of the tournament being placed into the group that died (which comprised of Netherlands as well as Italy). Similar to the earlier World Cup qualifying campaign, the 2010 campaign started off to a sour note with France losing badly and not achieving the kind of wins they had hoped for. France ultimately finished third in its group and secured an invitation to the UEFA play-offs with the Republic of Ireland for a spot at South Africa. In the first match, France beat the Irish by 1-0, and in the second, they secured the draw 1-1, in unorthodox circumstances, to earn a place in an appearance at the World Cup.
At the time of 2010's World Cup final stages, the team performed below expectations and was eliminated from the group stage. However, the negative press coverage that the team received throughout the tournament triggered further effects following the tournament in France. The competition ended midway the forward Nicolas Anelka was dismissed from the national team for having a disagreement, during which profanities were exchanged, with coach Raymond Domenech during half-time of the team's defeat to Mexico. The resultant disagreement regarding the expulsion of Anelka between players as well as the coaching staff and FFF officials led to players refusing to train prior to their third match. In response to the boycott, the Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot addressed to the athletes and "reduced France's humiliated World Cup stars to tears by delivering a moving speech just before their final group A game". France ended up losing their final match 2-1 to their hosts South Africa and failed to get to the knockout stage. After the team's defeat the team was informed in a variety of media outlets that the then president of France Nicolas Sarkozy would meet with captain Thierry Henry to discuss the problems that led to the team's fracas during the World Cup, at Henry's request. After the conclusion of the World Cup tournament, Federation President Jean-Pierre Escalettes quit his post.
Domenech who's contract was overdue Domenech was replaced in the role of head coach by ex-international Laurent Blanc. On the 23rd of July, 2010, on the instruction of Blanc and the FFF banned all 23 players of the World Cup squad for the team's friendly game against Norway following the World Cup. On the 6th of August five players considered to have played an important part in the boycott of training were punished for their actions.
The finals of Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, France reached the quarter-finals, but were defeated by the eventual champions Spain. After the tournament and the loss of head coach Laurent Blanc resigned and was succeeded by Didier Deschamps, who led France to glory at France's triumph at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. His team was selected to play in the 2014 World Cup by beating Ukraine in the playoffs. Deschamps later extended his contract to Euro 2016. The team was without the star midfielder Franck Ribery due to injuries, France lost to eventual champions Germany in the quarter-finals as a result of an early goal scored by Mats Hummels. Paul Pogba was awarded the Best Young Player award in the tournament.
France automatically was automatically a host for Euro 2016. Karim the Benzema as well as Hatem Ben Arfa weren't on the squad. France were included in Group A, which included Romania, Switzerland and Albania. France were able to win their group thanks to victories against Romania and Albania and a draw that was goalless against Switzerland and are set to take on with the Republic of Ireland in the round of 16. Ireland scored the lead in just two minutes thanks to an unpopular penalty which was scored through Robbie Brady. The brace of Antoine Griezmann was able to help France to prevail by 2-1, and advance to the quarter-finals. They defeated a determined Iceland 5-1 to set the stage for the semi-final match against the world champions and co-favourites of the tournament Germany. France defeated Germany by 2-0, their first victory against Germany in an important competition since. France however, were defeated by Portugal in the final 1-0 thanks to an extra-time goal by Eder. Griezmann was named Player for the Tournament and also received the Golden Boot in addition to being included in the Team of the Tournament, along with Dimitri Payet. The loss was the reason that France become the first country to lose the final in their home stadium following the time that Portugal was defeated in the final by Greece in 2004.
In the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying, France was the top team in its group, scoring 23 points, winning 7 times with 2 draws and losing just once, however their two draws were against significantly weaker nations. They were unable to draw 1-1 with Belarus in their first match as well as against Luxembourg and failing to score an advantage over Luxembourg in 1914, which is nearly 100 years. The only loss they suffered in the qualifying stage was against Sweden and they lost to Sweden 2-1 in the final few minutes after an error made by Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. France made it to their place in the World Cup finals with a 1-1 win against Belarus after taking on the Netherlands 4-1 at home just a couple of weeks prior. They were chosen to face Australia, Peru and Denmark in a group for which they were regarded as heavy favorites. Due to the strength and quality of their team, France were tipped by many to be among the top contenders to win the trophy. France however, put in an indifferent performance in the first round, winning 2-1 against Australia as well as a 1-1 victory against Peru which was followed by the match against Denmark which ended with a 0-0 draw. France defeated Argentina with a score of 4-3, in round 16 and later Uruguay scored 2-0 to make it to the semi-finals, where they defeated Belgium by 1-0 thanks to a goal by the defender Samuel Umtiti. France went into the semi-finals with a different approach from Japan during the first round in which they faced the Belgians. Les Bleus played low block to make sure there was no space for Belgium and, when they attacked this defensive style proved successful in contrast to Japan's open and aggressive game (which resulted in three Belgian goals even though Japan was ahead at 2-0) however, this prompted criticism from certain Belgian players who thought they were more superior than France. On the 15th of July, France beat Croatia in the final by a score of 4-2, winning the World Cup for the second time. Didier Deschamps was the third man to take home this World Cup as a player as well as a coach. He also became the second person to be awarded the title as both a coach and captain. Kylian Mbappe was given with the Best Young Player award and Griezmann received with the Bronze Ball and the Silver Boot for their performances during the tournament. When he scored in the final match, Mbappe was only the third teenager in history to score in the World Cup Final, the previous was Pele in 1958.
As the reigning champions of the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League, the French have not had the best of performances with two games to go and no chance of making it to in the Final Four. The team started the season by losing 1-2 at home to the Danish. Then they scored two points from two draws away in the games against Croatia and Austria However, they were not given the chance to lead their group when they fell to the Croatian team in the very first game ever in history. At the moment, France is at the bottom of the group with two points and two games remaining and are at risk of losing their place into League B for the first time in history.