France at the Women's World Cup 2023: Best players, fixtures, route to final & more

An interesting advertisement from Orange promoting France's World Cup 2023 campaign has gone viral.

At first, it appears to show the men's team - featuring star names like Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Kingsley Coman - tearing apart various opposition. They weave through them inside and out, carve them open and score a wide array of goals.

But all is not as it seems. Rewinding the footage reveals that the images have been doctored, with the men's players' likenesses pasted over that of the women's team.

It's sparked excitement that France could establish themselves as a major force in the women's game with World Cup glory. Here's everything you need to know ahead of their campaign Down Under.

France Women's tournament history

Women's World Cup

Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L
1991	Did not qualify	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
1995	Did not qualify	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
1999	Did not qualify	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
2003	Group stage	3	1	1	1
2007	Did not qualify	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
2011	4th place	6	2	1	3
2015	Quarter-finals	5	3	1	1
2019	Quarter-finals	5	4	0	1

Women's European Championship

Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L
1984	Did not qualify	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
1987	Did not qualify	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
1989	Did not qualify	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
1991	Did not qualify	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
1993	Did not qualify	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
1995	Did not qualify	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
1997	Group stage	3	1	1	1
2001	Group stage	3	1	0	2
2005	Group stage	3	1	1	1
2009	Quarter-finals	4	1	2	1
2013	Quarter-finals	4	3	1	0
2017	Quarter-finals	4	1	2	1
2022	Semi-finals	5	3	1	1

France Women's World Cup 2023 qualifying record

France didn't even need to get out of first gear in order to book their place at the World Cup, winning all ten of their qualifying fixtures and tearing apart every team that stood in their path.

Les Bleues ended their qualifying campaign having scored 54 goals and conceded only four, keeping seven clean sheets in those ten matches.

Date	Result	Goalscorers
17 September 2021	Greece 0-10 France	Majri, Geyoro (2), Katoto (3), Palama (OG), Diani, Asseyi, Renard
21 September 2021	Slovenia 2-3 France	Katoto (2), Majri
22 October 2021	France 11-0 Estonia	Geyoro, Katoto, Perisset, Cascarino, Toletti, Orav, Diani, Tounkara (2), Saar, Dali
26 October 2021	Kazakhstan 0-5 France	Katoto (2), Dali, Malard (2)
26 November 2021	France 6-0 Kazakhstan	Asseyi, Cascarino, Katoto, Perisset, Gauvin, Dali
30 November 2021	France 2-0 Wales	Diani, Bacha
8 April 2022	Wales 1-2 France	Renard, Katoto
12 April 2022	France 1-0 Slovenia	Cascarino
2 September 2022	Estonia 0-9 France	Cascarino, Dali, Sarr (4), Mateo (2), Geyoro
6 September 2022	France 5-1 Greece	Geyoro, Diani (2), Malard, Baltimore

France Women's World Cup 2023 squad

Position	Player	Age	Club
Goalkeeper	Solene Durand	28	Sassuolo
Goalkeeper	Pauline Peyraud-Magnin	31	Juventus
Goalkeeper	Constance Picaud	25	PSG
Defender	Maelle Lakrar	23	Montpellier
Defender	Wendie Renard	32	Lyon
Defender	Elisa De Almeida	25	PSG
Defender	Sakina Karchaoui	27	PSG
Defender	Selma Bacha	22	Lyon
Defender	Aissatou Tounkara	28	Unattached
Defender	Estelle Cascarino	26	PSG
Defender	Eve Perisset	28	Chelsea
Midfielder	Laurina Fazer	19	PSG
Midfielder	Sandie Toletti	28	Real Madrid
Midfielder	Grace Geyoro	26	PSG
Midfielder	Amel Majri	30	Lyon
Midfielder	Kenza Dali	31	Aston Villa
Midfielder	Lea La Garrec	30	Fleury
Forward	Eugenie Le Sommer	34	Lyon
Forward	Kadidiatou Diani	28	Unattached
Forward	Clara Mateo	25	Paris FC
Forward	Viviane Asseyi	29	West Ham
Forward	Naomie Feller	21	Real Madrid
Forward	Vicki Becho	19	Lyon

France Women's World Cup 2023 best players

Wendie Renard

Renard remains an influential figure in women's football / Robert Cianflone/GettyImages

You'll be hard pressed to find a player both more iconic and dominant than France captain Wendie Renard at this World Cup.

146 senior caps to her name. 34 goals from centre-back. Standing tall at 6'2. A Knight of the National Order of Merit, one of her country's highest honours.

If you're watching France for the first time this tournament, you'll be able to tell immediately that Renard is a standout star.

Grace Geyoro

Geyoro is a star / Daniel Pockett/GettyImages

For WSL fans, it was a real shame that Grace Geyoro's move from PSG to Chelsea last summer couldn't get over the line.

The elegant midfielder flitters between the lines with, well, grace, but crashes the box like the most lethal of finishers.

Geyoro heads to the World Cup as one of the game's premier players and with only a further chance to enhance her legacy.

Kadidiatou Diani

Diani is prolific / Robert Cianflone/GettyImages

The absence of the injured Marie-Antoinette Katoto has the potential to derail France's World Cup hopes entirely, and a lot of pressure has been placed on the shoulders of Kadidiatou Diani.

But the striker - officially without a club after leaving PSG but expected to join Lyon soon - has the temperament and ability to lead the line in Katoto's absence.

She notably stood beside Katoto and Renard during February's protest against the 'lack of professionalism' in the French setup, ultimately leading to the sacking of head coach Corinne Diacre.

France Women's World Cup 2023 manager

Herve Renard

Renard has a huge reputation / Daniel Pockett/GettyImages

Here he is. The Argentina conqueror. The Eurosport lunchtime legend. The king of AFCON.

Herve Renard is making his first foray into women's football, resigning from his lucrative job in charge of Saudi Arabia's men's national team in order to take on the role with Les Bleues.

France won their first three games under his stewardship before falling to hosts Australia in their final pre-World Cup friendly.

He brings with him a wealth of tournament experience having twice won the Africa Cup of Nations and performed a near-miracle with Saudi Arabia at the 2022 World Cup.

France Women's World Cup 2023 fixtures - Group H

Fixture	Date	Time (BST)
France vs Jamaica	23 July 2023	11:00
France vs Brazil	29 July 2023	11:00
Panama vs France	2 August 2023	11:00

France Women's World Cup 2023 route to the final

Would France have preferred to have been drawn in a group that wasn't with South American champions Brazil? Yeah, probably.

Nevertheless, they should have plenty left to get out of the group and into the last 16, though they'll likely need to top the group to avoid an early matchup with Germany.

Australia are likely to await France in the quarter-finals, where they would probably meet their demise. Should they advance though, then Germany could rear their heads again or European champions England could await.

Should France get to the final, it'll almost certainly be the United States they'll have to topple.

France Women's World Cup 2023 prediction

There's a lot of promise in the French camp heading into the World Cup, but their various injury woes will make it hard for them to look like a polished product.

Renard has only been in charge for a few months, so perhaps this tournament will come too soon for him to have the desired positive effect.

France are a good team and deserve to be mentioned among the world's best sides, but they're not quite ready to make the leap to serious contenders just yet.