This article is about France national football team players with at least 20 appearances. For a list of all national team players with a Wikipedia article, see the France international footballers category. For the current national team squad, see current squad.

The France national football team

France national football team

The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...

  represents the nation of France in international association football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation

French Football Federation

The French Football Federation is the governing body of association football in France, as well as the overseas departments and territories . It was formed in 1919 and is based in the capital Paris...

 , the governing body

Sport governing body

A sport governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sport governing bodies come in various forms, and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on rule changes in the sport...

 of football in France

Football in France

Football is the most popular sport in France. The Fédération Française de Football is the national governing bodyand is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the game of association football in the country, both professional and amateur...

, and competes as a member of the Union of European Football Associations

UEFA

The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

 (UEFA), which encompasses the countries of Europe. The team played its first official international match on 1 May 1904 against Belgium. Since its first competitive match, more than 800 players have made at least one international appearance for the team. As hundreds of players have played for the team since it started officially registering its players in 1904, only players with 20 or more official caps

Cap (sport)

In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...

 are included.

In 1914, Jean Ducret

Jean Ducret

Jean Ducret was a French international footballer. He played as a midfielder and played for five teams, most notably Olympique Lillois and Stade Français. Ducret was one of the national team's first-ever permanent captains having served in the role 13 times in 20 appearances from 1910–1914...

 became the first French international to reach 20 caps, doing so on 29 March in a 2–0 defeat to Italy

Italy national football team

The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...

. He was also one of the first permanent captains of the national team. Ducret was later surpassed by defender

Defender (football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

 Raymond Dubly

Raymond Dubly

Raymond Dubly was a French international footballer who played for France national football team at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics.-References:*...

 and goalkeeper Pierre Chayriguès

Pierre Chayriguès

Pierre Chayriguès was a French association football player. He was part of France national football team squad at the 1924 Summer Olympics....

, who both played with the national team up until 1925. Dubly finished his international career with 31 caps. Three years after retiring from the national team, Dubly's amount was exceeded by Jules Dewaquez

Jules Dewaquez

Jules Dewaquez , was a French amateur footballer, who played for both club and country on the right wing. He was extremely short and renowned for his small moustache. By profession he was a technical draughtsman, but he became one of the most successful French players during the 1920s...

, who went on to finish his career with 41 appearances. Dewaquez's record stood for nearly a decade before his amount was equaled by Edmond Delfour

Edmond Delfour

Maurice Edmond Delfour was a French international footballer who played midfielder and manager. He was born in Ris-Orangis...

 in 1938 and later surmounted by Étienne Mattler

Étienne Mattler

Étienne Mattler was a French international footballer, nicknamed Le Lion de Belfort.Mattler, born in Belfort, played for the clubs US Belfort , Troyes AC , and FC Sochaux where he won two Ligue 1 titles in 1935 and 1938 and one Coupe de France in 1937.For the national team, he won 46 caps and...

 a year later. Similar to Dubly, Mattler's amount was exceeded, however after two decades, by former Stade de Reims defenders Roger Marche

Roger Marche

Roger Marche was a French football defender. He was part of the French national team during the 1954 and 1958 World Cup tournaments...

 and Robert Jonquet

Robert Jonquet

Robert Jonquet , was a French former football defender. He played the majority of his professional career for the club Stade de Reims, winning five French championships and appearing in two European Cup finals...

. It was the former player who took over the record outperforming Jonquet by just five caps. Marche's 63 appearances remained the France national team record for appearance-making for 24 years, the longest time between the record being broken and set again. Marche was surpassed by Marius Trésor

Marius Trésor

Marius Trésor is a retired football defender from France, who was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers....

, who set the record after appearing in a October 1983 friendly match against Spain

Spain national football team

The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...

.

Trésor represented France only once afterward and his 65-cap output was subsequently passed by defender Maxime Bossis

Maxime Bossis

Maxime Bossis is a retired football defender from France, who obtained 76 caps for the French national team. He is mostly remembered for missing the last penalty in 1982 World Cup semifinal between Germany and France...

 and midfielder

Midfielder

A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...

 Michel Platini

Michel Platini

Michel François Platini is a former French football player, manager and current president of UEFA. Platini was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was the top goalscorer and voted the best player. He participated in the 1978, 1982...

. Bossis surpassed Trésor during qualifying for the 1986 FIFA World Cup

1986 FIFA World Cup

The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially...

, while Platini went beyond the former Marseille

Olympique de Marseille

Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...

 and Bordeaux

FC Girondins de Bordeaux

Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux is a French association football club based in the city of Bordeaux. The club currently play in Ligue 1, the first division of French football, and won its last Ligue 1 title in the 2008–09 season....

 player at the tournament itself, in which France finished in third place. Both players retired within months of each other as Bossis finished his career occupying the record, which was now at 76 caps, four more than Platini. After appearing at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Bossis acquired the record of appearing in the most FIFA World Cup matches for France. He was surpassed by goalkeeper Fabien Barthez

Fabien Barthez

Fabien Alain Barthez is a former French footballer goalkeeper who won honours with Manchester United and the French national team, with whom he won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000 and reached the final of the 2006 World Cup. He shares the record for the most World Cup finals clean sheets...

 in 2006. Bossis was passed just six years later by former international teammate Manuel Amoros

Manuel Amoros

Manuel Amoros is a retired football defender from France with Valencian ancestry. He was capped 82 times for the France national football team, and played in the Euro Cup finals of 1984 and 1992, and the World Cup finals in 1982 and 1986.Amoros played most of his career for AS Monaco in the...

, who finished his international career with 82 appearances. The 1992–93 UEFA Champions League

1993 UEFA Champions League Final

The 1993 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match between French club Marseille and Italian club Milan, played on 26 May 1993 at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany....

 winner was eventually equaled or outperformed by 12 different players. Of the 12 players, 11 of them played on the team that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup

1998 FIFA World Cup

The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...

 and six of them went on to become members of the FIFA Century Club, which consists of association football players who have accumulated 100 or more caps. Following the conclusion of UEFA Euro 2004, the record for France national team appearances was held by Marcel Desailly

Marcel Desailly

Marcel Desailly is a retired Ghanaian born French footballer and star of the France national football team squad, with whom he won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000...

. As a result, Desailly became the first player not born in France or the overseas departments and territories

Overseas departments and territories of France

The French Overseas Departments and Territories consist broadly of French-administered territories outside of the European continent. These territories have varying legal status and different levels of autonomy, although all have representation in the Parliament of France , and consequently the...

 to occupy the record. The current record holder for appearances with the national team is Lilian Thuram

Lilian Thuram

Lilian Thuram is a retired professional football defender and is the most capped player in the history of the France national team, and one of the twenty most capped players of all time.He played at the top flight in France, Italy and Spain for over 15 seasons, including ten in the Serie A with both...

, who made 142 total competitive appearances for the team between 1994 and 2008. Thuram broke Desailly's record at the 2006 FIFA World Cup

2006 FIFA World Cup

The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...

 in the team's final group stage match against Togo

Togo national football team

The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers (The Sparrow Hawks, is controlled by the Fédération Togolaise de Football.They played at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Their team bus...

. He is the second player born in an overseas department to hold the record, the first being Trésor. Both players were born in Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...

.

Players

Appearances and goals are composed of FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

, UEFA European Football Championship

UEFA European Football Championship

The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...

, and FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup

The FIFA Confederations Cup is an association football tournament for national teams, currently held every four years by FIFA. It is contested by the winners of each of the six FIFA confederation championships , along with the FIFA World Cup winner and the host nation, to bring the number of teams...

 matches and each competition's required qualification matches, as well as numerous international friendly tournaments and matches. Players are listed by amount of caps, then amount of goals scored. If amount of goals are equal, the players are then listed alphabetically. Statistics correct as of 15 November 2011.

Key

§	Still active for the national team
	Played on team that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup 1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
GK	Goalkeeper
DF	Defender Defender (association football) Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
MF	Midfielder Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
FW	Forward

France national team football players with at least 20 appearances

#	Name	Position	National team career	Caps	Goals	Ref
1		DF	1994–2008	142	2
2		FW	1997–2010	123	51
3		DF	1993–2004	116	3
4		MF	1994–2006	108	31
5		MF	1997–2009	107	6
6		MF	1989–2000	103	4
7=		DF	1989–2000	97	16
7=		DF	1992–2004	97	2
9		FW	1999–2006	92	26
10		GK	1994–2006	87	0
11	§	DF	2002–	84	5
12=		FW	1993–2002	82	28
12=		DF	1982–1992	82	1
14		FW	1996–2004	79	14
15		DF	1976–1986	76	1
16	§	MF	2004–	73	7
17		MF	1976–1987	72	41
18=		FW	1998–2008	71	34
18=		MF	1995–2008	71	0
20		FW	1998–2010	69	14
21=		DF	1971–1983	65	4
22=		MF	1990–2003	63	6
22=		DF	1947–1959	63	1
24=		MF	1982–1992	60	6
24=	§	DF	2004–	60	0
26=		MF	1967–1980	58	4
26=		DF	1948–1960	58	0
26=		DF	2000–2008	58	0
29=	§	MF	2006–	56	7
29=		DF	1977–1989	56	3
31		FW	1994–2002	55	8
32		FW	1986–1995	54	30
33=		MF	1992–2002	53	1
34=		MF	1976–1984	52	13
34=		MF	1980–1988	52	1
36=		DF	1995–2002	50	4
36=		GK	1983–1989	50	0
38=		FW	1975–1986	49	15
38=	§	MF	2002–	49	10
40		DF	1964–1972	48	3
41		MF	1974–1986	47	6
42=		FW	1953–1961	46	22
42=		DF	1930–1940	46	0
44=		FW	1987–1995	45	20
44=		MF	1952–1962	45	18
44=		DF	1986–1993	45	1
47=		FW	1967–1975	44	4
47=		DF	1953–1961	44	3
47=		GK	1993–2000	44	0
50=	§	FW	2007–	42	13
50=		DF	1964–1972	42	3
52=		FW	1920–1929	41	12
52=	§	FW	2002–	41	9
52=		FW	1929–1938	41	2
55=		DF	1996–2002	40	2
55=	§	DF	2001–	40	2
55=		DF	1975–1982	40	0
58=		MF	1988–1993	39	9
58=		DF	1952–1959	39	2
58=		DF	1975–1982	39	1
58=	§	DF	2004–	39	0
62=		FW	1973–1984	38	12
63=		FW	1952–1961	37	18
63=		MF	1982–1990	37	3
63=		DF	1990–1996	37	1
63=	§	MF	2004–	37	0
67=		FW	1967–1974	36	10
67=		GK	1963–1973	36	0
67=	§	MF	2006–	36	0
70=		FW	1920–1931	35	20
70=		FW	1963–1973	35	7
70=		DF	1954–1960	35	1
73=		FW	1981–1988	34	2
73=		GK	2001–2008	34	0
75=		FW	1955–1963	33	12
75=		FW	1980–1988	33	11
77=		FW	1944–1952	32	19
77=	§	MF	2007–	32	0
79=		FW	1934–1946	31	5
79=		FW	1913–1935	31	4
79=		DF	1957–1963	31	0
79=		GK	1987–1996	31	0
83=		GK	1927–1935	31	0
84=		FW	1966–1975	30	15
84=		FW	1927–1937	30	7
84=		DF	1988–1992	30	0
84=	§	GK	2008–	30	0
88=	§	MF	2008–	28	4
88=		DF	1983–1989	28	1
88=	§	MF	2007–	28	0
91=		DF	1980–1986	27	6
91=	§	MF	2007–	27	3
91=	§	DF	2003–	27	1
91=		MF	1946–1954	27	1
95=		FW	1993–1997	26	7
95=		MF	1997–2002	26	2
95=		MF	1988–1992	26	0
95=		GK	1953–1959	26	0
95=		DF	1959–1963	26	0
100=		FW	1933–1938	25	21
100=		MF	1936–1948	25	8
100=		MF	1993–1996	25	4
100=		DF	1988–1996	25	1
100=		MF	1962–1969	25	1
100=		GK	1939–1951	25	0
100=		GK	1969–1973	25	0
100=		MF	1926–1930	25	0
108=		FW	1929–1940	24	14
108=		MF	1919–1927	24	1
108=		DF	1960–1966	24	0
108=		MF	1958–1964	24	0
112=		MF	2000–2004	23	6
112=		MF	1949–1954	23	4
112=		MF	1960–1968	23	3
112=		MF	1920–1927	23	0
112=		DF	1989–1996	23	0
117=		FW	1933–1947	22	10
117=		FW	1988–1992	22	2
117=	§	DF	2002–	22	1
117=		FW	1990–1994	22	1
117=		DF	1972–1976	22	0
117=	§	MF	2002–	22	0
117=		MF	1977–1986	22	0
117=		DF	1933–1942	22	0
125=		FW	1953–1960	21	30
125=		FW	1952–1960	21	10
125=		DF	1963–1966	21	1
125=		DF	2001–2004	21	1
125=		GK	1969–1982	21	0
125=		GK	1960–1965	21	0
125=		GK	1911–1925	21	0
125=		DF	1960–1963	21	0
125=	§	DF	2004–	21	0
125=		DF	1925–1929	21	0
135=		DF	1975–1982	20	4
135=		FW	1957–1965	20	4
135=		MF	1910–1914	20	3
135=		DF	1964–1968	20	0
135=		DF	1983–1988	20	0
135=		DF	1922–1928	20	0
135=		DF	1969–1972	20	0

See also

• List of leading goalscorers for the France national football team
• List of France national football team captains

External links

Official site