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 | 14 (first in 1900) | ||
| Best result |  Gold medalists (1984) | ||
Medal record | |||
Results and fixtures
edit- Legend
Win Draw Lose Voided or Postponed Fixture
2024
edit| 22 March Friendly | France | 3–2 | | Châteauroux, France |
| 18:30 UTC+1 | Report | Stadium: Stade Gaston-Petit Attendance: 8,121 Referee: Vasilios Fotias (Greece) |
| 25 March Friendly | France | 2–2 | | Montbéliard, France |
| 21:05 UTC+1 |
|
Report | Stadium: Stade Auguste-Bonal Referee: Juan Martínez Munuera (Spain) |
| 4 July Friendly | France | 4–1 | | Bayonne, France |
| 21:15 UTC+2 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Stade Jean-Dauger Attendance: 11,280 Referee: Daniel Schlager (Germany) |
| 11 July Friendly | France | 7–0 | | Toulon, France |
| 21:15 UTC+2 | Report | Stadium: Stade Mayol Attendance: 5,880 Referee: Stefan Ebner (Austria) |
| 17 July Friendly | France | 1–1 | | Toulon, France |
| 21:05 UTC+2 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Stade Mayol Attendance: 11,896 Referee: Mohammad Usman Aslam (Norway) |
| 24 July Olympics GS | France | 3–0 | | Marseille, France |
| 21:00 UTC+2 | Report | Stadium: Stade de Marseille Attendance: 48,721 Referee: Yael Falcón (Argentina) |
| 27 July Olympics GS | France | 1–0 | | Nice, France |
| 21:00 UTC+2 |
|
Report | Stadium: Stade de Nice Attendance: 25,965 Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan) |
| 30 July Olympics GS | New Zealand | 0–3 | | Marseille, France |
| 19:00 UTC+2 | Report |
|
Stadium: Stade de Marseille Attendance: 45,790 Referee: Katia García (Mexico) |
| 2 August Olympics QF | France | 1–0 | | Bordeaux, France |
| 21:00 UTC+2 |
|
Report | Stadium: Stade de Bordeaux Attendance: 37,153 Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan) |
| 5 August Olympics SF | France | 3–1 (a.e.t.) | | Décines-Charpieu, France |
| 21:00 UTC+2 | Report |
|
Stadium: Stade de Lyon Attendance: 47,530 Referee: Saíd Martínez (Honduras) |
Players
editCurrent squad
editThe following 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 9 August 2024, after the team's match against Spain.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Obed Nkambadio | 7 February 2003 | 2 | 0 | |
| 16 | GK | Guillaume Restes | 11 March 2005 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2 | DF | Castello Lukeba | 17 December 2002 | 10 | 0 | |
| 3 | DF | Adrien Truffert | 20 November 2001 | 10 | 0 | |
| 4 | DF | Loïc Badé | 11 April 2000 | 8 | 1 | |
| 5 | DF | Kiliann Sildillia | 16 May 2002 | 10 | 1 | |
| 15 | DF | Bradley Locko | 6 May 2002 | 6 | 0 | |
| 17 | DF | Soungoutou Magassa | 8 October 2003 | 7 | 0 | |
| 19 | DF | Chrislain Matsima | 19 May 2002 | 3 | 0 | |
| 6 | MF | Manu Koné | 17 May 2001 | 9 | 0 | |
| 8 | MF | Maghnes Akliouche | 25 February 2002 | 10 | 2 | |
| 11 | MF | Désiré Doué | 3 June 2005 | 10 | 3 | |
| 12 | MF | Enzo Millot | 17 July 2002 | 8 | 2 | |
| 13 | MF | Joris Chotard | 24 September 2001 | 9 | 0 | |
| 20 | MF | Andy Diouf | 17 May 2003 | 5 | 1 | |
| 21 | MF | Johann Lepenant | 22 October 2002 | 1 | 0 | |
| 7 | FW | Michael Olise | 12 December 2001 | 9 | 5 | |
| 9 | FW | Arnaud Kalimuendo | 20 January 2002 | 10 | 3 | |
| 10 | FW | Alexandre Lacazette (captain) | 28 May 1991 | 8 | 3 | |
| 14 | FW | Jean-Philippe Mateta | 28 June 1997 | 8 | 7 | |
| 18 | FW | Rayan Cherki | 17 August 2003 | 8 | 2 | |
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | GK | Théo De Percin | 2 February 2001 | 0 | 0 |
Recent call-ups
editThe 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 | Robin Risser | 2 December 2004 | 0 | 0 | 2024 Olympic GamesINJ | |
| GK | Lucas Chevalier | 6 November 2001 | 1 | 0 | 2024 Olympic GamesWD | |
| DF | Maxime Estève | 26 May 2002 | 1 | 0 | 2024 Olympic GamesWD | |
| DF | Bafodé Diakité | 6 January 2001 | 2 | 0 | 2024 Olympic GamesWD | |
| DF | Leny Yoro | 13 November 2005 | 1 | 0 | 2024 Olympic GamesWD | |
| DF | Malo Gusto | 19 May 2003 | 0 | 0 | v. | |
| MF | Lesley Ugochukwu | 26 March 2004 | 2 | 0 | 2024 Olympic GamesWD | |
| MF | Khéphren Thuram | 26 March 2001 | 2 | 0 | 2024 Olympic GamesWD | |
| MF | Warren Zaïre-Emery | 8 March 2006 | 0 | 0 | 2024 Olympic GamesWD | |
| FW | Bradley Barcola | 2 September 2002 | 1 | 0 | 2024 Olympic GamesWD | |
| FW | Mathys Tel | 27 April 2005 | 0 | 0 | 2024 Olympic GamesWD | |
| FW | Wilson Odobert | 28 November 2004 | 2 | 1 | v. | |
| FW | Elye Wahi | 2 January 2003 | 2 | 0 | v. | |
| FW | Georginio Rutter | 20 April 2002 | 0 | 0 | v. | |
| ||||||
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 three 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 | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Squad | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
| Silver medal | 2nd | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | Squad | Qualified as hosts | ||||||||
| Did not enter | Did not enter | ||||||||||||||||
| Semi-finals | 5th | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 26 | Squad | Invited | ||||||||
| Withdrew | |||||||||||||||||
| Semi-finals | 4th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | Squad | |||||||||
| Quarter-finals | 5th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | Squad | Qualified as hosts | ||||||||
| First round | 9th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | Squad | Invited | ||||||||
| Did not enter | Did not enter | ||||||||||||||||
| Quarter-finals | 5th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Squad | Invited | ||||||||
| Preliminary round | 17th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Squad | |||||||||
| Did not qualify | Did not enter | ||||||||||||||||
| First round | 5th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | Squad | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1960 | ||
| Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 1964 | ||||||||||
| Quarter-finals | 5th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | Squad | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 1968 | ||
| Did not qualify | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 1972 | ||||||||||
| Quarter-finals | 5th | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 7 | Squad | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 1976 | ||
| Did not enter | Did not enter | 1980 | |||||||||||||||
| Gold medal | 1st | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 6 | Squad | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 1984 | ||
| Did not qualify | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 16 | 1988 | ||||||||||
| UEFA European Under-21 Championship | 1992 | ||||||||||||||||
| Quarter-finals | 5th | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | Squad | 1996 | ||||||||
| Did not qualify | 2000 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | |||||||||||||||||
| Group stage | 13th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 11 | Squad | 2020 | ||||||||
| Silver medal | 2nd | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 6 | Squad | Qualified as hosts | ||||||||
| To be determined | To be determined | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 3 medals | 14/28 | 42 | 21 | 5* | 16 | 84 | 100 | — | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 57 | 49 | Total | |
- *Red border indicates tournament was held on home soil.
Coaching history
editFFF Committee: 1900 – Paris & 1908 – London
Fred Pentland: 1920 – Brussels
Peter Farmer: 1928 – Amsterdam
Gaby Robert: 1976 – Montreal
Sylvain Ripoll: 2020 – Tokyo
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.