Known as Les Bleus (The Blues), France experienced much of its success in three major eras: in the 1950s, 1980s, and late 1990s/early 2000s respectively, which resulted in numerous major honours. Under the leadership of Didier Deschamps and the three-time FIFA World Player of the Year, Zinedine Zidane, France won the FIFA World Cup in 1998. Two years later, the team triumphed at UEFA Euro 2000. They also won the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2001 and 2003, and reached the 2006 FIFA World Cup final, being defeated by Italy. In 2016, France hosted the UEFA Euro 2016 final where they lost 1–0 to Portugal in extra time.

 

First game: France vs Australia (16/06)

Star: Antoine Griezmann

Antoine Griezmann is a professional footballer who plays for the french national team as well as for the Spanish club Atletico Madrid. He was an aspiring footballer since early years. Sadly, his genetics didn’t allow him to grow and he was rejected by many leading clubs youth programmes. However, in 2005 he was noticed by several major clubs, including the French professional club Real Sociedad, while playing for the local club Montpellier. In the 2009-10 season, he made his debut for Sociedad. Following four successful seasons at Real Sociedad, Antoine finally made his move to Atletico Madrid in July 2014. For his national senior team, Antoine played in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the Euro 2016. At the latter, he got the Golden Boot award for being the leading goal scorer in the tournament.

 

Coach: Didier Deschamps

Didier Claude Deschamps is a retired footballer and the current manager of the France national team. He played as a defensive midfielder for several clubs such as Marseille, Juventus, Chelsea and Valencia. Nicknamed “the water-carrier”, by former France teammate Eric Cantona, Deschamps was an intelligent and hard-working defensive midfielder who excelled at winning back possession and also stood out for his leadership throughout his career.

Group: Australia, Peru, Denmark.