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 1948, and first competed in 1948. 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) | ||
| FIFA code | FRA | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
 France 2–1 India  (London, England; 31 July 1948) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
France 7–0 Dominican Republic  (Toulon, France; 11 July 2024) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
France 0–7 Hungary  (Rome, Italy; 1 September 1960) | |||
| Summer Olympic Games | |||
| Appearances | 9 (first in 1948) | ||
| 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 |  Ivory Coast | Châteauroux, France |
| 18:30 UTC+1 | Report | Stadium: Stade Gaston-Petit Attendance: 8,121 Referee: Vasilios Fotias (Greece) |
| 25 March Friendly | France | 2–2 |  United States | Montbéliard, France |
| 21:05 UTC+1 |
|
Report | Stadium: Stade Auguste-Bonal Referee: Juan Martínez Munuera (Spain) |
| 4 July Friendly | France | 4–1 |  Paraguay | Bayonne, France |
| 21:15 UTC+2 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Stade Jean-Dauger Attendance: 11,280 Referee: Daniel Schlager (Germany) |
| 11 July Friendly | France | 7–0 | Dominican Republic | Toulon, France |
| 21:15 UTC+2 | Report | Stadium: Stade Mayol Attendance: 5,880 Referee: Stefan Ebner (Austria) |
| 17 July Friendly | France | 1–1 |  Japan | 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 | United States | 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 |  Guinea | 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 | France | 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 |  Argentina | 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.) |  Egypt | 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 | Paris FC
|
| 16 | GK | Guillaume Restes | 11 March 2005 | 9 | 0 | Toulouse
|
| 2 | DF | Castello Lukeba | 17 December 2002 | 10 | 0 |  RB Leipzig
|
| 3 | DF | Adrien Truffert | 20 November 2001 | 10 | 0 | Rennes
|
| 4 | DF | Loïc Badé | 11 April 2000 | 8 | 1 | Sevilla
|
| 5 | DF | Kiliann Sildillia | 16 May 2002 | 10 | 1 | SC Freiburg
|
| 15 | DF | Bradley Locko | 6 May 2002 | 6 | 0 | Brest
|
| 17 | DF | Soungoutou Magassa | 8 October 2003 | 7 | 0 | Monaco
|
| 19 | DF | Chrislain Matsima | 19 May 2002 | 3 | 0 | Monaco
|
| 6 | MF | Manu Koné | 17 May 2001 | 9 | 0 |  Roma
|
| 8 | MF | Maghnes Akliouche | 25 February 2002 | 10 | 2 | Monaco
|
| 11 | MF | Désiré Doué | 3 June 2005 | 10 | 3 | Paris Saint-Germain
|
| 12 | MF | Enzo Millot | 17 July 2002 | 8 | 2 | VfB Stuttgart
|
| 13 | MF | Joris Chotard | 24 September 2001 | 9 | 0 | Montpellier
|
| 20 | MF | Andy Diouf | 17 May 2003 | 5 | 1 | Lens
|
| 21 | MF | Johann Lepenant | 22 October 2002 | 1 | 0 | Lyon
|
| 7 | FW | Michael Olise | 12 December 2001 | 9 | 5 | Bayern Munich
|
| 9 | FW | Arnaud Kalimuendo | 20 January 2002 | 10 | 3 | Rennes
|
| 10 | FW | Alexandre Lacazette (captain) | 28 May 1991 | 8 | 3 | Lyon
|
| 14 | FW | Jean-Philippe Mateta | 28 June 1997 | 8 | 7 |  Crystal Palace
|
| 18 | FW | Rayan Cherki | 17 August 2003 | 8 | 2 | Lyon
|
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | GK | Théo De Percin | 2 February 2001 | 0 | 0 | Auxerre
|
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) | |
Summer Olympics record
editGold medalists Silver medalists Bronze medalists
Since 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 Olympics | Qualification | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Host | Round | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Squad | Pos. | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | |
| 1900 to 1936 | See France national football team | See France national football team | |||||||||||||||
| 1948 |  United Kingdom |
Second round | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | Squad | Invited | |||||||
| 1952 |  Finland |
Preliminary round | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Squad | ||||||||
| 1956 |  Australia |
Did not enter | Did not enter | ||||||||||||||
| 1960 | Italy |
Group stage | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | Squad | 1st | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | |
| 1964 | Japan |
Did not qualify | R1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||||||||
| 1968 |  Mexico |
Quarter-finals | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | Squad | F | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 4 | |
| 1972 | West Germany |
Did not qualify | 2nd | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 9 | ||||||||
| 1976 |  Canada |
Quarter-finals | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 7 | Squad | 1st | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | |
| 1980 |  Soviet Union |
Did not qualify | 3rd | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 9 | ||||||||
| 1984 | United States |
Gold medal | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 6 | Squad | 1st | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 3 | |
| 1988 |  South Korea |
Did not qualify | 5th | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 16 | ||||||||
| 1992 | Spain |
See France national under-21 football team | |||||||||||||||
| 1996 | United States |
Quarter-finals | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | Squad | ||||||||
| 2000 | Australia |
Did not qualify | |||||||||||||||
| 2004 |  Greece
| ||||||||||||||||
| 2008 |  China
| ||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | United Kingdom
| ||||||||||||||||
| 2016 |  Brazil
| ||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Japan |
Group stage | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 11 | Squad | ||||||||
| 2024 | France |
Silver medal | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 6 | Squad | Qualified as hosts | |||||||
| 2028 | United States |
To be determined | See France national under-21 football team | ||||||||||||||
| Total | Gold medal | 33 | 18 | 5 | 10 | 63 | 55 | — | 4/8 | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 64 | 60 | ||
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.
