France Olympic football team
The France Olympic football team, also known as the France national under-23 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 after a 24-year absence.
| Nickname(s) | Les Bleus (The Blues) Les Tricolores (The Tricolors) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Fédération Française de Football (FFF) | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach | Thierry Henry | ||
| FIFA code | FRA | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
| Denmark 9–0 France (London, England; 18 October 1908) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
| France 7–0 Latvia (Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, France; 27 May 1924) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
| Denmark 17–1 France (London, England; 22 October 1908) | |||
| Summer Olympic Games | |||
| Appearances | 13 (first in 1900) | ||
| Best result | Gold Medal (1984) | ||
Medal record | |||
Results and fixtures
- Legend
Win Draw Lose Voided or Postponed Fixture
2024
| 22 March Friendly | France | 3–2 | Ivory Coast | Châteauroux, France |
| --:-- UTC+1 | Stadium: Stade Gaston-Petit |
| 25 March Friendly | France | 2–2 | United States | Montbéliard, France |
| --:-- UTC+1 |
|
Report | Stadium: Stade Auguste-Bonal |
| 11 July Friendly | France | v | Dominican Republic | Toulon, France |
| 21:15 UTC+2 | Stadium: Stade Mayol |
| 24 July Olympics | France | v | United States | Marseille, France |
| 21:00 UTC+2 | Stadium: Stade Vélodrome |
| 30 July Olympics | New Zealand | v | France | Marseille, France |
| 19:00 UTC+2 | Stadium: Stade Vélodrome |
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the team's pre-Olympic training camp, including three overage players in Alexandre Lacazette, Loïc Badé and Jean-Philippe Mateta.[1][2]
Note: Names in italics denote players that have been capped by the senior team.
Caps and goals as of 25 March 2024, after the team's match against United States.
Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up to the France Olympic squad and remain eligible:
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Lucas Chevalier | 6 November 2001 | 1 | 0 | Lille | 2024 Olympic GamesWD |
| DF | Maxime Estève | 26 May 2002 | 1 | 0 | Burnley | 2024 Olympic GamesWD |
| DF | Bafodé Diakité | 6 January 2001 | 2 | 0 | Lille | 2024 Olympic GamesWD |
| DF | Leny Yoro | 13 November 2005 | 1 | 0 | Lille | 2024 Olympic GamesWD |
| DF | Malo Gusto | 19 May 2003 | 0 | 0 | Chelsea | v. Ivory Coast, 22 March 2024 INJ |
| MF | Warren Zaïre-Emery | 8 March 2006 | 0 | 0 | Paris Saint-Germain | 2024 Olympic GamesWD |
| FW | Bradley Barcola | 2 September 2002 | 1 | 0 | Paris Saint-Germain | 2024 Olympic GamesWD |
| FW | Mathys Tel | 27 April 2005 | 0 | 0 | Bayern Munich | 2024 Olympic GamesWD |
| FW | Wilson Odobert | 28 November 2004 | 2 | 1 | Burnley | v. United States, 25 March 2024 |
| FW | Elye Wahi | 2 January 2003 | 2 | 0 | Lens | v. United States, 25 March 2024 |
| FW | Georginio Rutter | 20 April 2002 | 0 | 0 | Leeds United | v. Ivory Coast, 22 March 2024 INJ |
| ||||||
Overage players in Olympic Games
| Tournament | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| did not select | |||
| André-Pierre Gignac (FW) | Téji Savanier (MF) | Florian Thauvin (FW) | |
| Loïc Badé (DF) | Alexandre Lacazette (FW) | Jean-Philippe Mateta (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 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Squad | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
| 1900 | Runners-up | 2nd | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | Squad | Qualified as hosts | — | ||||||
| 1904 | did not enter | did not enter | — | ||||||||||||||
| 1908 | Semi-final | 5th | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 26 | Squad | Invited | — | ||||||
| 1912 | withdrew | invited | — | ||||||||||||||
| 1920 | Semi-final | 4th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | Squad | Invited | — | ||||||
| 1924 | Quarter-final | 5th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | Squad | Qualified as hosts | — | ||||||
| 1928 | First round | 9th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | Squad | Invited | — | ||||||
| 1936 | did not enter | did not enter | — | ||||||||||||||
| 1948 | Quarter-final | 5th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Squad | Invited | — | ||||||
| 1952 | Preliminary round | 17th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Squad | Invited | — | ||||||
| 1956 | did not qualify | did not enter | — | ||||||||||||||
| 1960 | First round | 5th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | Squad | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1960 | |
| 1964 | did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 1964 | |||||||||
| 1968 | Quarter-final | 5th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | Squad | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 1968 | |
| 1972 | did not qualify | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 1972 | |||||||||
| 1976 | Quarter-final | 5th | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 7 | Squad | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 1976 | |
| 1980 | did not enter | did not enter | 1980 | ||||||||||||||
| 1984 | Gold medal | 1st | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 6 | Squad | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 1984 | |
| 1988 | did not qualify | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 16 | 1988 | |||||||||
| 1992 | UEFA European Under-21 Championship | 1992 | |||||||||||||||
| 1996 | Quarter-final | 5th | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | Squad | 1996 | |||||||
| 2000 | did not qualify | 2000 | |||||||||||||||
| 2004 | 2004 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | 2008 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 2012 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | 2016 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Group stage | 13th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 11 | Squad | 2020 | |||||||
| 2024 | Qualified as hosts | Qualified as hosts | 2024 | ||||||||||||||
| 2028 | 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
- Thierry Henry: 2024 – Paris
See also
References
- "Jeux Olympiques Paris 2024 - Pre-Liste" (PDF). fff.fr. French Football Federation. 3 June 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- "JO : LA PRÉ-LISTE ACTUALISÉE" [Olympic Games: The preliminary list updated] (in French). French Football Federation. 11 June 2024.