How did they perform in UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying?
• France's Group B campaign proved more of an ordeal than many would have anticipated although Italy's 2-1 win in Scotland did them a big favour by making their final game in Ukraine a formality.
• A rematch with Italy, the team who had denied them the 2006 FIFA World Cup, was the big treat for the neutrals and France took first blood at the Stade de France in their second qualifier with goals from Sidney Govou (2) and Thierry Henry earning a 3-1 win.
• However, Raymond Domenech’s team lost 1-0 to Scotland in Glasgow in their next game to put a surprising complexion on the section.
• France settled themselves with a run of four wins and then drew 0-0 with Italy in Milan.
• However, once more a good result against Italy was followed by a shock against the Scots as James McFadden's strike in Paris consigned the French to a second 1-0 loss against the group's surprise contenders.
• Henry subsequently broke Michel Platini's record of 41 goals for France in the 2-0 win against Lithuania and fears that France might need a result in Ukraine in their final game were to prove unfounded.
• Les Bleus finished second in the section behind Italy.
How did they perform in the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
• One of three teams in their group that remained unbeaten through the qualifying round process, France emerged in first position as their form improved during the competition following a sluggish start.
• The French split their victories and draws in the ten-match campaign to finish two points clear of Switzerland and Israel.
• Although they struggled for goals in their opening five games by only scoring four times in away defeats of the Faroe Islands and Cyprus, the French also recorded five consecutive clean sheets as 0-0 home draws against Israel, the Republic of Ireland and Switzerland testify.
• They would remain undefeated at home with subsequent victories against the Faroes and Cyprus, but their 1-0 defeat of the Republic of Ireland in Dublin ultimately put them in control of their own destiny in the group standings.
• After a slow start in the group stage at the finals against Switzerland (0-0), the Korean Republic (1-1) and Togo (2-0), France gradually improved.
• Victory against Spain in the second round (3-1) was followed by the 1-0 defeats of holders Brazil and then Portugal as they marched on to the final.
• In the showpiece match, France narrowly lost to Italy. Their opponents won 5-3 on penalties after the match, which saw captain Zinédine Zidane sent-off, had finished 1-1.
How did they perform in UEFA EURO 2004™?
• Advanced to the quarter-finals of the competition before exiting to eventual winners, Greece. The only goal of the game came after 65 minutes through Angelos Charisteas. The defeat ensured that after twelve UEFA European Championship final rounds, the Henri Delaunay trophy remains undefended by the holders.
• Prior to that, France came through the group stage unscathed with victories against England (2-1) and Switzerland (3-1), sandwiched by a 2-2 draw against Croatia.
• Eight wins from eight outings in the qualifying campaign ensured a fault-free passage for the UEFA European Championship holders to the final tournament. Slovenia finished as runners-up ten points adrift as France scored 29 goals but only conceded on two occasions. In total, 19 of those goals were scored in their four matches at home with none conceded.
What is their best performance in the UEFA European Championship?
• France are the only other country apart from three-time winners Germans to have won the competition more than once following successes in 1984 and 2000.
• The victory in 1984 came on home soil as hosts with Spain defeated 2-0 in the final at Parc des Princes in Paris.
• The French won all their matches in the competition, defeating Denmark (1-0), Belgium (5-0) and Yugoslavia (3-2) in the group phase before Portugal (3-2 after extra-time) were accounted for in the semi-finals at Marseille's Stade Vélodrome.
• France edged out Ukraine and Russia by one and two points respectively to book an automatic spot at the UEFA EURO 2000™ finals which were co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands.
• Roger Lemerre's side were second to the Dutch through the three-match group phase, but they overcame Spain (2-1) and Portugal (2-1 after extra-time) in the knockout phase before defeating Italy in the final.
• The endgame also went to extra-time with Marco Delvecchio putting the Italians ahead after 55 minutes only for Sylvain Wiltord to equalise in stoppage time. France went on to win the game thanks to David Trezeguet's goal after 103 minutes.
All-time record
• France have qualified for the last five UEFA European Championship final tournaments having first qualified to host the inaugural four-team final round in 1960.
Key facts
• France have been involved in all 13 UEFA European Championship competitions to date. Up until the end of UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying, they had played 117 matches, with 67 wins, 29 draws, 21 losses, 236 goals scored and 109 conceded.
• Before defeating Azerbaijan 10-0 on 6 September 1995 in Auxerre, France's record victory came in their first-ever match in the competition at the expense of Greece.
• France were humbled 5-1 by Yugoslavia at the quarter-final stage of the 1968 UEFA European Championship. To date, that result is their record defeat in the competition.
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