In 1904, shortly before the founding of FIFA in the same year, the French national team was officially established. The following year, they played their first home game at the Parc des Princes, beating Switzerland in front of nearly 500 fans.
Some people may not know that in the early days of the French national football team's history, the identity of the French national team has been controversial. Mostly it is the result of a disagreement between FIFA and the USFSA, the main French sports federation. These differences culminated in the run-up to the 1908 Olympics, which led to FIFA and the US Soccer Association sending two separate French teams to the competition. However, the results were also less than satisfactory. Both teams were eliminated by Denmark, France A (FIFA control) lost 1-17, and France B0-9 lost. Such a situation will definitely not be allowed, nor will it be accepted by the public. The USFSA was eventually dissolved, becoming a semi-affiliated agency of the CFI in 1913. Six years later, the CFI transformed into the French Football Federation we have today.
In 1930, France participated in the inaugural World Cup in Uruguay and became the first team to score a goal in the World Cup, then beat Mexico 4-1. France, however, withdrew from the group stage. Sadly, France also didn't succeed in the 1934 World Cup, as Les Bleus was beaten by Austria in the first round.
The 1950s were the first "golden generation" in France. Led by creative Raymond Copa and prolific striker Just Fontaine, they quickly transformed into a team worthy of the respect of their opponents. The team made it through qualifying for the 1958 World Cup. They continued their good form in the tournament, where they advanced from the group stage but managed to beat West Germany in third place. Fontaine finished with 13 goals, a record that remains unchanged to this day.
By the early 1960s, most of the golden generation had retired, which led to a sharp decline in form and result. Over the next ten years, France did not do well in football. This continued until the appointment of Michel Hidalgo in 1976 and the arrival of a new generation of talents led by midfield maestro Michel Platini.
Host of the 1998 World Cup, Les Bleus was one of the biggest favorites to win the tournament. And this time, the French football team achieved their goal. With Zidane's two goals and Petit's last goal, France clinched their first World Cup title.
With Deschamps as the captain, Zinedine Zidane, Henry, Petit, Desailly, Blanc, Thuram and so on as the stalwarts, together with the newcomers such as Trezeguet, Pires and so on, the golden generation, but also won the 1998 World Cup, the 2000 UEFA European Championships, the 2001, 2003 Confederation Cup.In the 2016 European Championships, France beat Germany 2-0 in the semi-final to reach the final of the European Championships for the third time; however, it was defeated 0-1 by Portugal in the final, and came second. Although France did not win the eventual title, striker Griezmann won the best player and top scorer of the European Championships.
At the 2016 European Championships, France beat Germany 2-0 to reach the final, but were runners-up to Portugal 0-1. Although France did not win the eventual title, striker Griezmann was awarded the best player and top scorer of the European Championships.
On 30 June 2018, France became the first team to reach the last eight of the FIFA World Cup in Russia, beating Argentina 4-3 in the 1/8 final. On 6 July, France defeated Uruguay 2-0, advancing to the World Cup quarter-finals after 12 years. On 11 July, France beat Belgium 1-0 to reach the World Cup final for the 3rd time. In the early morning of 16 July (UST+8), the 2018 World Cup in Russia came to an end, and France finally beat Croatia 4-2, and once again won the FIFA World Cup Trophy after 20 years.
On 18 December 2022, France finished second in the World Cup final in Qatar, losing 5-7 on aggregate to Argentina after a penalty shootout.