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) France 7-0 Dominican Republic  (Toulon, France; 11 July 2024) | |||
| 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
edit- Legend
Win Draw Lose Voided or Postponed Fixture
2024
edit| 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 |
| 4 July Friendly | France | 4–1 | Paraguay | Bayonne, France |
| 21:15 UTC+2 |
|
|
Stadium: Stade Jean-Dauger |
| 11 July Friendly | France | 7–0 | 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
editCurrent squad
editThe following 18 players were called up for the 2024 Olympic Games, including three overage players in Alexandre Lacazette, Loïc Badé and Jean-Philippe Mateta.[1]
Note: Names in italics denote players that have been capped by the senior team.
Caps and goals as of 11 July 2024, after the team's match against Dominican Republic.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | GK | Guillaume Restes | 11 March 2005 | 3 | 0 | Toulouse |
| 1 | GK | Obed Nkambadio | 7 February 2003 | 1 | 0 | Paris FC |
| 3 | DF | Adrien Truffert | 20 November 2001 | 4 | 0 | Rennes |
| 5 | DF | Kiliann Sildillia | 16 May 2002 | 4 | 0 | SC Freiburg |
| 14 | DF | Bradley Locko | 6 May 2002 | 3 | 0 | Brest |
| 2 | DF | Castello Lukeba | 17 December 2002 | 3 | 0 | RB Leipzig |
| 8 | DF | Soungoutou Magassa | 8 October 2003 | 2 | 0 | Monaco |
| 15 | DF | Loïc Badé | 11 April 2000 | 1 | 0 | Sevilla |
| 6 | MF | Désiré Doué | 3 June 2005 | 4 | 2 | Rennes |
| 19 | MF | Manu Koné | 17 May 2001 | 4 | 0 | Borussia Mönchengladbach |
| 21 | MF | Maghnes Akliouche | 25 February 2002 | 3 | 1 | Monaco |
| 12 | MF | Enzo Millot | 17 July 2002 | 3 | 1 | VfB Stuttgart |
| 13 | MF | Joris Chotard | 24 September 2001 | 2 | 0 | Montpellier |
| 18 | FW | Rayan Cherki | 17 August 2003 | 4 | 2 | Lyon |
| 9 | FW | Arnaud Kalimuendo | 20 January 2002 | 3 | 2 | Rennes |
| 10 | FW | Alexandre Lacazette (captain) | 28 May 1991 | 2 | 2 | Lyon |
| 7 | FW | Michael Olise | 12 December 2001 | 2 | 2 | Bayern Munich |
| 11 | FW | Jean-Philippe Mateta | 28 June 1997 | 1 | 2 | Crystal Palace |
Recent call-ups
editThe following players have also been called up to the France Olympic squad and remain eligible:
Overage players in Olympic Games
edit| 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
editSince 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
edit- 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
editReferences
edit- ^ French Football Federation [@equipedefrance] (8 July 2024). "𝐿𝐼𝑆𝑇𝐸 𝑂𝐹𝐹𝐼𝐶𝐼𝐸𝐿𝐿𝐸 📋⚽️ Ils représenteront la France aux 𝑱𝒆𝒖𝒙 𝑶𝒍𝒚𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔 de @Paris2024 🇫🇷🫡 #BleuCollectif" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 July 2024 – via Twitter.