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6 unusual facts about France national football team


2007–08 in Scottish football

Scotland failed in their attempt to qualify for the Euro 2008, finishing third in Group B behind 2006 World Cup finalists France and Italy despite beating France twice.

Arsen Sykaj

Sykaj was first called up to the senior Albania team on 30 September 2011 by Josip Kuže for the last two Euro 2012 qualifying games against France and Romania.

Deuxième vie

In World Cup semifinal France was beaten by West Germany in penalty kicks, after leading 3-1 in extra time: It is a national tragedy.

Fabien Pelous

In his spare time, Pelous is involved in a winemaking venture that he started in 2002 with France football international Djibril Cissé.

Football in Romania

The Romania national football team played its first match in 1922 and is one of only four national teams to have taken part in the first three World Cups, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium.

Talimeran Ao

In India's first match against France the team lost 2-1 with the India goal coming from Sarangapani Raman.


1957–58 in Belgian football

The Belgium national football team finished their 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign in the second place of Group 2, 2 points behind France, and thus did not qualify for the World Cup finals in Sweden.

1962–63 in English football

3 October 1962: The England national football team competes in the European Football Championships for the first time, beginning the qualifiers for the 1964 European Nations' Cup with a 1-1 draw against France in the qualifying round first leg at Hillsborough.

Alexy Bosetti

On July 13, 2013, 15 years and one day after the victory of France national football team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he won with France national under-20 football team, 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup by defeating Istanbul, Uruguay national under-20 football team.

Alfred Verdyck

He played the first official match for Belgium on 1 May 1904, in Brussels against France (3-3).

Bram Appel

Appel and Theo Timmermans took the initiative for a charity match for the victims of the North Sea flood of 1953, between France and Dutch footballers playing abroad.

CO Les Ulis

CO Les Ulis is primarily known for being the club where France national team members Patrice Evra and all time leading goalscorer Thierry Henry began their careers.

Diego Godín

Godín was selected for the squad at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, starting in the opener against France (0–0), in Cape Town Stadium in Cape Town and playing in a further four matches for the eventual semifinalists.

England national amateur football team

Their first international match was against France on 1 November 1906 and resulted in a 15-0 win for England, with Stanley Harris netting seven goals and Vivian Woodward four.

Ernie Blenkinsop

Blenkinsop caught the eye of the Football Association selectors who choose him to play for England in a friendly match in France on 17 May 1928, at the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes, Paris, it turned out to be a debut to remember as the English taught the French a lesson in football, beating them by a resounding 5–1 scoreline.

Harald Schumacher

However, he is perhaps best remembered for a highly controversial incident in the 1982 FIFA World Cup semifinal against France when he collided with and seriously injured French defender Patrick Battiston.

Jean Tigana

Jean Amadou Tigana (born 23 June 1955 in Bamako, Mali, previously named French Sudan) is a former French international footballer, having played in midfield and managed professional football extensively throughout France, including 52 appearances and 1 goal for the France national football team during the 1980s.

Jean-Paul Bertrand-Demanes

Jean-Paul Bertrand-Demanes (born 13 May 1952 in Casablanca, Morocco) is a former football goalkeeper from France, who earned eleven international caps for the French national team during the 1970s and was part of the French team in the 1978 FIFA World Cup.

Joseph Jadrejak

Joseph Jadrzejczak, known as Joseph Jadrejak (born 20 February 1918 in Gladbeck, Westphalia, Germany - died 24 November 1990 in Saint-André-lez-Lille), is a former French international footballer and manager who played as a defender, and was part of the famed Lille team of the late 1940s.

Khalid Jamil

While in Kuwait Jamil went to an under-14 camp and met Michel Platini who was then the France national football team's coach.

Lajos Korányi

His brothers Mátyás and Désiré also played international football, the first with Hungary and the second with France.

Li Xuepeng

Li made his debut for the Chinese national team against France on 4 June 2010 in a surprise 1-0 victory where he came on as a substitute for Du Wei.

Mário Moinhos

He made his debut on 24 April 1975 in a 2–0 friendly win in Paris with France, and appeared for the last time on 16 October 1976 in a 0–2 home loss against Poland, at the beginning of the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Marius Trésor

For the French national team, Trésor played in the World Cup in 1978 and 1982.

Mitchell Langerak

Langerak made his debut for Australia in an international friendly against France on 12 October 2013, a match in which the Socceroos were thrashed 6–0, courtesy of goals from Franck Ribéry, Olivier Giroud, Yohan Cabaye, Mathieu Debuchy and Karim Benzema.

Myroslav Stupar

He is the best remembered for his officiating of the 1982 World Cup game between France and Kuwait in Valladolid in Spain.

Nicolas Frey

His father, Raymond, was a professional goalkeeper, while his grandfather André was a defender who played several years with Toulouse FC, reaching the French national team as Sébastien.

Pukka Pies England Band

At UEFA Euro 2012, the band were not permitted to perform at England's game against France in the Donbass Arena in Donetsk, Ukraine, despite having UEFA approval.

Richard Møller Nielsen

It looked like it was over after just two games, but a 2-1 winner from substituted Lars Elstrup secured a victory against France and a place in the semifinals.

Sarangapani Raman

He is best known for playing in the India national football team's first ever match and scoring the first ever Indian international goal ever in the 1948 Olympics against France.

Super Formation Soccer 94

Using two special codes, the player will have access to the special/hidden teams which didn't take part in the 1994 World Cup: England, Wales, Uruguay, Denmark and France.

Tommy Moroney

He played his last game for Ireland on 4 October 1953 against France in a World Cup qualifier.

Ulises Saucedo

Of all the refereeing appointments the two that attracted most attention was that of Gilberto de Almeida Rêgo in the match between Argentina and France, in which the Brazilian referee blew up six minutes early, and Saucedo's in the Argentina and Mexico encounter, which Argentina won 6–3.

Zahia Dehar

In 2008, when she was 16, Dehar was allegedly paid for sex by Sebastian Ariza Medina, and by Franck Ribéry and Karim Benzema, the latter of whom are both players on the French national football team.

Zakaria Bakkali

After Bakkali's superb Champions League-debut, Belgium coach Marc Wilmots selected him in the 25-man squad in the friendly-game against France.


see also