France–Germany football rivalry

The France–Germany football rivalry (French: Rivalité entre l'Allemagne et la France en football; German: Deutsch-französische Fußballrivalität) is one of the biggest and most heated association football rivalries in Europe, between two European sides, France and Germany, two of the most successful national teams in the world. Previously, it was mostly a one-sided phenomenon since most German fans considered the Netherlands or Italy to be their traditional footballing rivals until the rise of France from the 1990s onward, but the rivalry really began during the UEFA European Championships in the 2010s decade after a series of mere friendlies in the 1990s to 2000s.

France–Germany football rivalry
LocationEurope (UEFA)
Teams France
 Germany
First meeting15 March 1931
Friendly
France 1–0 Germany
Latest meeting23 March 2024
Friendly
France 0–2 Germany
Statistics
Meetings total34
Most winsFrance (15)
Top scorerAntoine Griezmann (5 goals)
All-time seriesFrance: 15
Draw: 8
Germany: 11
Largest victoryWest Germany 5–1 France
Friendly
27 September 1967
France
Germany

Background
Main articles: French–German enmity and Christmas truce

The root of France–Germany rivalry could have dated back from the old tensions between France and German Empire after the capture of Paris by Prussian Army in 1870.[1] Since the end of the war, enmity between France and Germany increased, resulted with military arm race and eventually, set up the World War I. During the beginning of war, a peaceful moment, the Christmas truce, where a peaceful football match between French, British and German soldiers occurred.[2] This was considered the first unofficial match between France and Germany.

The countries first played each other in an official international in 1931 when France defeated the Weimar Republic. However, rivalry soon increased with the German invasion of France, and antagonism persisted until the end of World War II.[3][4] One of the most notable meetings between the two countries came in the 1982 World Cup semi-final, which ended 3–3 after extra time before West Germany won in a penalty shoot-out.[5] Michel Platini himself declared the match as his "most beautiful game".[6]

Matches
Number Date Location Competition Game Results
115 March 1931 ParisFriendlyFrance – Weimar Republic1–0
219 March 1933 BerlinFriendlyWeimar Republic – France3–3
317 March 1935 ParisFriendlyFrance – Germany1–3
421 March 1937 StuttgartFriendlyGermany – France4–0
55 October 1952 ParisFriendlyFrance – West Germany3–1
616 October 1954 HannoverFriendlyWest Germany – France1–3
728 June 1958 Göteborg1958 FIFA World CupFrance – West Germany6–3
826 October 1958 ParisFriendlyFrance – West Germany2–2
924 October 1962 StuttgartFriendlyWest Germany – France2–2
1027 September 1967 BerlinFriendlyWest Germany – France5–1
1125 September 1968 MarseilleFriendlyFrance – West Germany1–1
1213 October 1973 GelsenkirchenFriendlyWest Germany – France2–1
1323 February 1977 ParisFriendlyFrance – West Germany1–0
1419 November 1980 HannoverFriendlyWest Germany – France4–1
158 July 1982 Seville1982 FIFA World CupWest Germany – France3–3
(5–4 p)
1618 April 1984 StrasbourgFriendlyFrance – West Germany1–0
1725 June 1986 Guadalajara1986 FIFA World CupFrance – West Germany0–2
1812 August 1987 BerlinBerlin AnniversaryWest Germany – France2–1
1928 February 1990 MontpellierFriendlyFrance – West Germany2–1
201 June 1996 StuttgartFriendlyGermany – France0–1
2127 February 2001 ParisFriendlyFrance – Germany1–0
2215 November 2003 GelsenkirchenFriendlyGermany – France0–3
2312 November 2005 ParisFriendlyFrance – Germany0–0
2429 February 2012 BremenFriendlyGermany – France1–2
256 February 2013 ParisFriendlyFrance – Germany1–2
264 July 2014 Rio de Janeiro2014 FIFA World CupFrance – Germany0–1
2713 November 2015 ParisFriendlyFrance – Germany2–0
287 July 2016 MarseilleUEFA Euro 2016Germany – France0–2
2914 November 2017 CologneFriendlyGermany – France2–2
306 September 2018 Munich2018–19 UEFA Nations LeagueGermany – France0–0
3116 October 2018 Paris2018–19 UEFA Nations LeagueFrance – Germany2–1
3215 June 2021 MunichUEFA Euro 2020France – Germany1–0
3312 September 2023 DortmundFriendlyGermany – France2–1
3423 March 2024 LyonFriendlyFrance – Germany0–2

Statistics

All-time top goalscorers
As of 12 September 2023
Nation Player Goals Years
Antoine Griezmann 5 2014–present
Just Fontaine 4 1958
Rudi Völler 3 1982–1994
Gerd Müller 3 1966–1974

Overall record
As of 23 March 2024
Competition Matches[7] Result Goals
France Draws Germany France Germany
FIFA World Cup 411299
UEFA European Championship 220030
UEFA Nations League 211021
All competitions 84221410
Friendly 2611693740
All matches 34158115150

See also

References
  1. "The War That Set The Stage For World War One". Forces Network. 2 September 2016.
  2. The Daily Telegraph
  3. "World Cup: France-Germany rivalry isn't just about the wars". Christian Science Monitor. 4 July 2014.
  4. "France vs Germany: a football rivalry 30 years in the making". France 24. 4 July 2014.
  5. "Germany vs France: The European Rivalry That Keeps on Giving - Sabotage Times". Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  6. Pears, Tim (25 October 2008). "'My most beautiful game': France v West Germany, 1982 World Cup semi-final". the Guardian.
  7. "France national football team: record v Germany". 11v11. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
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