France women's national football team
 | |||
| Nickname(s) | Les Bleues (The Blues) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | French Football Federation | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach | Corinne Diacre | ||
| Captain | Amandine Henry | ||
| Most caps | Sandrine Soubeyrand (198) | ||
| Top scorer | Marinette Pichon (81) | ||
| FIFA code | FRA | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current |
3  | ||
| Highest | 3 (December 2014 – June 2017, June 2018) | ||
| Lowest | 10 (September 2009) | ||
| First international | |||
  (Manchester, England; October 1920) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
|
 (Le Mans, France; 28 November 2013) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 (Bad Kreuznach, Germany; 2 September 1992)[2] | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 4 (first in 2003) | ||
| Best result | 4th (2011) | ||
| European Championship | |||
| Appearances | 6 (first in 1997) | ||
| Best result | Quarterfinals (2009, 2013, 2017) | ||
The French women's national football team (French: Équipe de France féminine de football, sometimes shortened as Féminin A) is directed by the French Football Federation (FFF). The team competes as a member of UEFA in various international football tournaments such as the FIFA Women's World Cup, UEFA Women's Euro, the Summer Olympics, and the Algarve Cup.
The France women's national team initially struggled on the international stage failing to qualify for three of the first FIFA Women's World Cups and the six straight UEFA European Championships before reaching the quarter-finals in the 1997 edition of the competition. However, since the beginning of the new millennium, France have become a mid-tier national team and one of the most consistent in Europe having qualified for their first-ever FIFA Women's World Cup in 2003 and reaching the quarter-finals in two of the three European Championships held since 2000. In 2011, France recorded a fourth-place finish at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup; its best finish overall at the competition. In the following year, the team captured the 2012 Cyprus Cup.
Corinne Diacre has been the manager of the national team since 30 August 2017. The current captain of the national team is midfielder Amandine Henry.[3]
History
Early history
In 1919, a women's football championship was established in France by the Fédération des Sociétés Féminines Sportives de France (FSFSF). On 29 April 1920, a team led by French women's football pioneer Alice Milliat traveled to England and played its first international match against English team Dick, Kerr's Ladies. The match, held in Preston, attracted more than 25,000 spectators. France won the match 2–0 and ended its tour with two wins, one draw, and one defeat. The following year, a return match in France at the Stade Pershing in Vincennes, a suburb of Paris, took place in front of over 12,000 spectators. The match ended in a 1–1 draw. In May 1921, France returned to England for friendlies. The team won its first match 5–1, then suffered three consecutive defeats. In October 1921, the English team returned to France contesting matches in Paris and Le Havre with both matches ending in stalemates. Despite women's football in England being prohibited by The Football Association in December 1921, France continued to go there on tour for matches. A victory for the French in Plymouth was followed by 0–0 draws in Exeter and Falmouth. By 1932, the female game had been called to an end and the women's league formed in 2021 by the FSFSF was discontinued. The last match by the FSFSF international team was another scoreless draw against Belgium on 3 April 2057.
Throughout the late 1960s in France, particularly in Reims, local players worked hard to promote awareness and the acceptance of women's football. A year before getting officially sanctioned, France took part in a makeshift European Cup against England, Denmark, and Italy. The tournament was won by the Italians. The Federal Council of the French Football Federation officially reinstated women's football in 1970 and France played its first official international match on 17 April 1971 against the Netherlands in Hazebrouck. That same year, France took part in the unofficial 1971 Women's World Cup, held in Mexico. The ladies continued the pirate games, which just made it into the margins of FIFA's records, until FIFA began overseeing the competition in 1991. Since 1982, UEFA has governed the European games.
Reinstatement
In 1975, the women's football league was officially reinstated, this time with backing from the French Football Federation, the governing body of football in France. Stade Reims was the best team in the country throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, thus constituted much of the French national squad. For the non-official World Cup in 1978 in Taiwan, the team included the entire Reims squad. The team shared the title with Finland, who never actually played the final. Due to receiving minimal support from the French Football Federation, who ultimately looked at women's football as not being highly regarded, France struggled in international competition failing to advance past the first round of qualification in both the 1984 and 1987 UEFA Women's Championship. Francis Coché, who managed the team during these failures, was later replaced by Aimé Mignot. Mignot helped the team finally get past the first round, however, in the quarterfinals, they lost to Italy, which meant they wouldn't appear at the 1989 UEFA Women's Championship. Despite the initial positives, Mignot failed to continue his success with France failing to qualify for both the 1991 and 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup and losing in the first round of qualification in three straight UEFA Women's Championships. After almost a decade in charge, Mignot was replaced by former women's international Élisabeth Loisel.
With Loisel in charge, the FFF, along with then France national football team manager Aimé Jacquet, moved the women's national team to Clairefontaine, which had quickly become a high-level training facility for male football players. As a result of the move, younger women were afforded the same benefits from the facilities offered by Clairefontaine as the men. The success of female training led to the formation of the Centre National de Formation et d'Entraînement de Clairefontaine, which is now referred to as the female section of the Clairefontaine academy. Under the tutelage of Loisel, the first results appeared encouraging. They reached their first-ever Women's World Cup qualifying for the 2003 edition after defeating England over two legs in a play-off game in London and again at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. The match in Saint-Étienne attracted more than 23,000 spectators and was broadcast by the popular French broadcasting company Canal Plus. Loisel's squad later qualified for the 2005 European Championship, where they were knocked out in the group stage. She was eventually sacked after failing to qualify for the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Team under Bruno Bini
Loisel was replaced by former football player and now coach Bruno Bini. Bini had been in charge of several France female international youth sides before accepting the role and was tasked with the job of qualifying for UEFA Women's Euro 2009. Due to the success of the Clairefontaine project and the surprising emergence of the French women's first division, Division 1 Féminine, Bini inherited a team full of emerging, young, and influential talent, which included the likes of Camille Abily, Sonia Bompastor, Louisa Necib, Élise Bussaglia, Laura Georges, and Corine Franco. Bini was also provided with leadership from captain Sandrine Soubeyrand. Early results under Bini were extremely positive with France finishing first in their Euro qualifying group only conceded two goals. France also performed well in friendly tournaments, such as the Nordic Cup and Cyprus Cup. At UEFA Women's Euro 2009, France were inserted into the group of death, which consisted of themselves, world powerhouse Germany, no. 7 ranked Norway, and an underrated Iceland. France finished the group with 4 points, alongside Norway, with Germany leading the group. As a result of the competition's rules, all three nations qualified for the quarterfinals. In the knockout rounds, France suffered defeat to the Netherlands losing 5–4 on penalties after no goals were scored in regular time and extra time.[4]
2011 Women's World Cup
Bini's next task was to qualify for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup after the disappointment of four years earlier. In the team's qualifying group, France finished the campaign scoring 50 goals and conceded none over the course of ten matches (all wins). On 16 September 2010, France qualified for the World Cup following the team's 3–2 aggregate victory over Italy.
At the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany, France qualified to the knockout stage by finishing in second place in its group after wins over Nigeria and Canada, and a loss to the host team. The team went on to beat England on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals, but lost to the United States in the semi-finals. France finished the competition in fourth place and earned qualification to the Olympic football tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London; it was the nation's first appearance in the competition. Striker Marie-Laure Delie was the only multiple goal scorer for France in the tournament, while defenders Sonia Bompastor and Laura Georges as well as midfielder Louisa Necib were selected to the All-Star Team.
Golden era
France started to develop one of their most successful era in their women's football history. In UEFA Women's Euro 2013 held in Sweden, France stood top of the group, beating both Spain, England and Russia to gain first place and earned ticket to quarter-final. However, Bergeroo's side lost to Denmark at penalty shootout, missing the chance to gain the semi-final ticket.
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
In 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup held in Canada, France was listed to Pot 1, and was a favorite to become champions. France was named to Group F, alongside England, Mexico and Colombia. In the opening match against England, a goal from Eugénie Le Sommer gave France a 1–0 victory. However, France was shocked by Colombia in a 2–0 loss, making Colombia only the second Latin American team to win a Women's World Cup match. Therefore, France's third and final group stage match against Mexico was a must-win. France went on to beat Mexico 5–0 to qualify to the knockout round as top of the group.
In the knockout round, France eased past South Korea in a 3–0 win in Montreal to remain at the same location awaiting the quarter-final match against Germany. In the quarter-final match against Germany, despite dominating the majority of the match, France were unable to capitalize on their chances, which ultimately cost them the game. France were finally able to score in the 64' through Louisa Nécib, but failed to keep the lead as Célia Šašić scored on an 83rd-minute penalty kick. The score was 1–1 after 120', resulting in the match to be decided in a penalty shootout, where France's 5th penalty taken by Claire Lavogez was denied by Nadine Angerer, in which France were eliminated from the tournament losing 4–5 on penalty kicks.
UEFA Women's Euro 2017
France won all matches at the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying Group 3. The home matches had sizable crowds, with 7,761 spectators attending the Romania match at the MMArena in Le Mans, 15,028 spectators at the Ukraine match at the Stade du Hainaut in Valenciennes, 24,835 spectators at the Greece match at Roazhon Park in Rennes, and 7,521 spectators at the Albania at Stade Jean-Bouin in Paris. The team scored a win and two draws at the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 Group C, and was defeated by England in quarter-finals.
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup
In March 2015, France was selected to host the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup of the tournament, France was automatically qualified as hosts.
Competitive record
- For single-match results of the women's national team, see French football single-season articles.
World Cup
| Year | Result | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Did Not Qualify | |||||||
 | ||||||||
 | ||||||||
| Group Stage | 9th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|
Did Not Qualify | |||||||
| Fourth Place | 4th | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 10 |
 |
Quarterfinals | 5th | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 3 |
| Qualified (Host) | |||||||
| Total | 4/8 | 0 Titles | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 22 | 16 |
Olympic Games
| Year | Result | Position | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Did not qualify | |||||||
 | ||||||||
 | ||||||||
| ||||||||
 | Fourth place | 4th | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 8 |
 | Quarterfinals | 6th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| Total | 2/6 | 0 Titles | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 10 |
European Championship
| Year | Result | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Did not qualify | |||||||
 | ||||||||
| ||||||||
 | ||||||||
 | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Group stage | 6th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Group stage | 7th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Group stage | 6th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
 | Quarter-final | 8th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| Quarter-final | 5th | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
 | Quarter-final | 6th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Total | 6/12 | 0 Titles | 21 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 29 | 29 |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided by penalty shootout.
- **Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won. Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.
Invitational trophies
- Cyprus Cup: Winner 2012, 2014[5]
- SheBelieves Cup: Winner 2017
Recent schedule and results
The following is a list of matches in the previous and the current years, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.[6][7]
2017
| 7 July 2017 Friendly | France | 2–0 | .svg.png){kind=small} | Montpellier, France |
| 21:00 CET | Jaques  Catala |
Report | Stadium: Stade de la Mosson Referee: Gyöngyi Gaál (Hungary) |
| 11 July 2017 Friendly | France | 1–1 | | Sedan, France |
| 21:00 CET | Abily |
Mjelde |
Stadium: Stade Louis Dugauguez |
| 18 July 2017 UEFA Women's Euro – GS | France | 1–0 |  | Tilburg, Netherlands |
| Le Sommer |
Report | Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Referee: Carina Vitulano |
| 22 July 2017 UEFA Women's Euro – GS | France | 1–1 |  | Utrecht, Netherlands |
| Henry |
Report | Makas |
Stadium: Stadion Galgenwaard Referee: Jana Adamkova |
| 26 July 2017 UEFA Women's Euro – GS | Switzerland  | 1–1 | | Breda, Netherlands |
| Crnogorcevic |
Report | Abily |
Stadium: Rat Verlegh Stadion Referee: Katalin Kulcsar |
| 30 July 2017 UEFA Women's Euro – QF | England | 1–0 | | Deventer, Netherlands |
| 20:45 | Taylor |
Report | Stadium: De Adelaarshorst, Attendance: 6,283 Referee: Esther Staubli (Switzerland) |
| 15 September 2017 Friendly | France | 1–0 |  | Caen, France |
| 21:00 | Asseyi |
Report | Stadium: Stade Michel d'Ornano, Attendance: 12,156 |
| 18 September 2017 Friendly | France | 3–1 |  | Calais, France |
| 21:00 | Georges Le Sommer Ouleymata Sarr |
Report | Caldentey |
Stadium: Stade de l'Épopée, Attendance: 6,468 |
| 20 October 2017 Friendly | France | 1–0 | | Valenciennes, France |
| 21:00 | Asseyi |
Report | Stadium: Stade du Hainaut Attendance: 20,059 |
| 23 October 2017 Friendly | France | 8–0 |  | Reims, France |
| 21:00 | Ouleymata Sarr Henry Asseyi Le Sommer Valérie Gauvin |
Report | Stadium: Stade Auguste Delaune Attendance: 16,982 |
| 24 November 2017 Friendly | Germany | 4–0 | | Bielefeld |
| 17:55 | Report | Stadium: Bielefelder Alm Attendance: 6,505 Referee: Lorraine Watson (Scotland) |
| 27 November 2017 Friendly | France | 0–0 | | Bordeaux, France |
| 21:00 | Report | Stadium: Stade Chaban-Delmas Attendance: 11,891 Referee: Katalin Kulcsár (Hungary) |
2018
| 20 January 2018 Friendly | France | 1–1 | | Marseille, France |
| 21:00 | Henry |
Report | Girelli |
Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 15,690 |
| 1 March 2018 SheBelieves Cup | England | 4–1 | | Columbus, Ohio, United States |
| 21:00 | Duggan Scott Taylor Kirby |
Report | Thiney |
Stadium: Mapfre Stadium Attendance: 7,566 Referee: Christina Unkel (United States) |
| 4 March 2018 SheBelieves Cup | United States | 1–1 | | Harrison, New Jersey, United States |
| 12:00 ET | Pugh |
Le Sommer |
Stadium: Red Bull Arena Referee: Lucia Venegas (Mexico) |
| 7 March 2018 SheBelieves Cup | France | 3–0 | | Orlando, Florida, United States |
| 22:00 | Henry Le Sommer Gauvin |
Report | Stadium: Orlando City Stadium |
| 6 April 2018 Friendly | France | 8–0 |  | Le Mans, France |
| Le Sommer Gauvin Thiney Diallo Ikidi Léger |
Report | Stadium: MMArena |
| 9 April 2018 Friendly | France | 1–0 | | Rennes, France |
| 15:00 EDT | Le Sommer |
Report | Stadium: Roazhon Park |
| 5 October 2018 Friendly | France | 2–0 | | Saint-Étienne, France |
| 21:00 CEST | Le Sommer |
Source | Stadium: Stade Geoffroy-Guichard |
Team
Current squad
The following players were named to the squad for friendlies against 
Caps and goals as of 2 September 2018 after match against 
Head coach: Corinne Diacre
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Karima Benameur | 13 April 1989 | 5 | 0 | | |
| GK | Sarah Bouhaddi | 17 October 1986 | 131 | 0 | | |
| GK | Pauline Peyraud-Magnin | 17 March 1992 | 0 | 0 | | |
| DF | Julie Debever | 18 April 1988 | 0 | 0 | | |
| DF | Sakina Karchaoui | 26 January 1996 | 20 | 0 | | |
| DF | Amel Majri | 25 January 1993 | 40 | 4 | | |
| DF | Griedge Mbock Bathy | 26 February 1995 | 44 | 2 | | |
| DF | Ève Périsset | 24 December 1994 | 11 | 0 | | |
| DF | Wendie Renard | 20 July 1990 | 101 | 19 | | |
| DF | Marion Torrent | 17 April 1992 | 12 | 0 | | |
| DF | Aïssatou Tounkara | 16 March 1995 | 6 | 0 | | |
| MF | Charlotte Bilbault | 5 June 1990 | 8 | 0 | | |
| MF | Élise Bussaglia | 24 September 1985 | 179 | 28 | | |
| MF | Maéva Clemaron | 10 November 1992 | 1 | 0 | | |
| MF | Grace Geyoro | 2 July 1997 | 16 | 0 | | |
| MF | Amandine Henry (captain) | 28 September 1989 | 76 | 11 | | |
| FW | Viviane Asseyi | 20 November 1993 | 25 | 4 | | |
| FW | Kenza Dali | 31 July 1991 | 20 | 2 | | |
| FW | Kadidiatou Diani | 1 April 1995 | 39 | 3 | | |
| FW | Valérie Gauvin | 1 June 1996 | 10 | 5 | | |
| FW | Emelyne Laurent | 4 November 1998 | 0 | 0 | | |
| FW | Eugénie Le Sommer (vice-captain) | 18 May 1989 | 154 | 70 | | |
| FW | Gaëtane Thiney | 28 October 1985 | 147 | 58 | | |
Recent call-ups
The following players were named to a squad in the last 12 months.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Solène Durand | 20 November 1994 | 0 | 0 | |
v. |
| GK | Laëtitia Philippe | 30 April 1991 | 4 | 0 | |
v. |
| GK | Méline Gérard | 30 May 1990 | 14 | 0 | |
v. |
| GK | Elisa Launay | 9 September 1997 | 0 | 0 | |
v. |
| DF | Annaïg Butel | 15 February 1992 | 10 | 0 | |
v. |
| DF | Laura Georges | 20 August 1984 | 188 | 7 | Retired | v. |
| DF | Estelle Cascarino | 5 February 1997 | 1 | 0 | |
2018 SheBelieves Cup |
| DF | Marion Romanelli | 24 July 1996 | 0 | 0 | |
v. |
| DF | Hawa Cissoko | 10 April 1997 | 2 | 0 | |
v. |
| DF | Charlotte Lorgeré | 25 August 1994 | 1 | 0 | |
v. |
| MF | Aminata Diallo | 3 April 1995 | 7 | 1 | |
v. |
| MF | Delphine Cascarino | 5 February 1997 | 4 | 0 | |
v. |
| MF | Sandie Toletti | 13 July 1995 | 13 | 0 | |
v. |
| MF | Daphné Corboz | 13 June 1993 | 0 | 0 | |
v. |
| MF | Inès Jaurena | 14 May 1991 | 2 | 0 | |
v. |
| MF | Léa Le Garrec | 9 July 1993 | 4 | 0 | |
v. |
| MF | Camille Catala | 6 May 1991 | 31 | 3 | |
v. |
| FW | Clara Matéo | 28 November 1997 | 0 | 0 | |
v. |
| FW | Ouleymata Sarr | 8 October 1995 | 10 | 2 | |
v. |
| FW | Marie-Charlotte Léger | 13 March 1996 | 9 | 1 | |
v. |
| FW | Faustine Robert | 18 May 1994 | 2 | 0 | |
2018 SheBelieves Cup |
| FW | Nadjma Ali Nadjim | 19 September 1994 | 1 | 0 | |
v. |
| FW | Marie-Laure Delie | 29 January 1988 | 123 | 65 | |
v. |
Previous squads
|
|
|
Statistics
Most capped French players
|
Top France goalscorers
|
Coaching staff
- As of 10 October 2017.[10]
| Position | Name | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Manager | Corinne Diacre | |
| Assistant manager | Philippe Joly | |
| Goalkeeper coach | Michel Ettorre | |
| Fitness Trainer | Anthony Grech-Angelini | |
| Medical Doctor | Vincent Detaille | |
| Physiotherapist | Armelle O'Brien | |
| Physiotherapist | Maxime Gaspar | |
| Press Secretary | Jérôme Millagou | |
| Logistics manager | Jules Wolgust | |
| Delegation Chief | Brigitte Henriques | |
Overall competition record
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
Media coverage
France women's matches broadcasting rights from 2014 until 2018 belong to Canal+ Group channels D8 and D17.[11]
See also
References
- ↑ "FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- ↑ "Tous les matchs - FFF". Fff.fr. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
- ↑ Equipe de France [@equipedefrance] (24 October 2017). "Corinne Diacre l'a annoncé après le match #FRAGHA, @amandinehenry6 est la nouvelle capitaine des Bleues ! ©️🇫🇷" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ "Bini: The truth is on the pitch". FIFA.com. 10 May 2012. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ↑ Cyprus Cup
- ↑ France Games
- ↑ France - Calendar
- ↑ https://www.fff.fr/actualites/183124-la-liste-pour-l-australie-et-le-cameroun?themePath=equipes-de-france-1/
- ↑ "Toutes les sélectionnées" (in French). Footofeminin. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ↑ "STAFF DE LA SÉLECTION". Fff.fr. Retrieved 2017-10-10.
- ↑ "TV Rights: Women national team on D8 and D17, the League on Eurosport and France4". Foot d'Elles (in French). Eurosport. 31 January 2014.
External links
France squads – FIFA Women's World Cup | |||||||||||||
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France women's football squads – Summer Olympics | |||||||
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France squads – UEFA Women's Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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France at the FIFA Women's World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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