What is France's record in World Cup finals?

Giroud could win another World Cup
Giroud could win another World Cup / Lionel Hahn/GettyImages
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France continued their dominant title defence at this year's World Cup by beating Morocco in the semi-finals on Wednesday night.

Having seen off England in the quarter-finals, Les Bleus put a stop to one of the most memorable runs in World Cup history by eliminating Morocco, who had become the first African and Arab side ever to reach the last four.

It's not the first time the French have reached a World Cup final. As one of the global powerhouses of the spot, France have tasted success twice in the tournament's history, though haven't always had it their own way in finals.

Ahead of that clash with Argentina, here's their record in finals.


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France's record in World Cup finals

France's victory over Morocco sees them reach the World Cup final for the fourth time in their history.

While Les Bleus boasted stars like Michel Platini and Maxime Bossis during the 1980s, they didn't reach a final until 1998 on home soil. Win over Paraguay, Italy and Croatia in the knockout stages were followed by a rousing 3-0 final win over Brazil.

Zinedine Zidane's first-half double was followed by a late stoppage time strike from Emmanuel Petit as France won the World Cup for the first time.

An infamous campaign in 2002 saw France eliminated from the tournament at the group stage after defeats to Senegal and Denmark. They started slowly again in 2006 but Zidane, Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira all played starring roles as France beat Spain, Brazil and Portugal in the knockout stage.

They couldn't get over the line as Zidane was sent off in extra time before Italy won in a penalty shootout.

2010 saw another group stage exit before a quarter final elimination to Germany in 2014. Everything came together in 2018 in Russia as a core including Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba inspired Les Bleus to a second World Cup triumph.

They eliminated Lionel Messi and Argentina in a 4-3 last 16 classic before seeing off Uruguay, Belgium and finally Croatia in the final.

France's record in European Championship finals

France have also won the European Championship twice. Platini scored nine goals at the 1984 tournament, including one in the 2-0 final win over Spain at Parc des Princes.

They almost reached the final in 1996 but went out at the last four stage before winning their second title in 2000. Having won the World Cup two years prior, Les Bleus won in Belgium and the Netherlands by defeating Italy 2-1 in the final thanks to David Trezeguet's 103rd-minute golden goal.

Hugo Lloris, Griezmann, Olivier Giroud and Kingsley Coman are all current France squad members who competed in their last Euros final appearance. That came in 2016 and, despite being heavy favourites against Portugal who quickly lost Cristiano Ronaldo to injury, they fell to defeat to Eder's 109th-minute effort.