For France, the 2022 Qatar World Cup has been a historic performance so far. In their 3-1 victory against Poland in the Round of 16, Olivier Giroud became his country's all-time greatest goalscorer. With the first goal of the match, the 36-year-old overtook the great Thierry Henry and became France's all-time leading scorer with 52 goals.
The reigning champs will now square up against another French-speaking country, Morocco for a place in their second consecutive World Cup Final. Even though Les Blues have one of the best teams in the tournament, coach Didier Deschamps must deal with the pressure of managing his superstar players while also dealing with a serious injury issue that has severely hampered his options.
However, in spite of all that, the numbers and statistics being compiled by the French squad seem great, especially with the help of star striker Kylian Mbappe, who has been dazzling fans in Qatari stadiums. Interestingly, they are tied for sixth most appearances among all countries, having made 16 appearances at the World Cups. France were one of four European teams in the first World Cup in 1930.
How many World Cup trophies have France won?
Among the eight teams to ever win the World Cup, France are one of only six to accomplish it more than once. 20 years after their legendary first World Cup success in Paris in 1998, Les Blues were crowned winners once again in Russia in 2018. When Deschamps captained the team as a player in 1998, they won the World Cup at home, and the victory was widely credited with helping to foster a more accepting and inclusive society.
France have always been one of the tournament's top teams, but until 1998 they had never been able to convert their undeniable skill into World Cup glory. Led by Michel Platini, they made it all the way to the Semi-Finals on two separate occasions (1982 and 1986) but ultimately couldn't go past the likes of Italy, Argentina, and West Germany.
After being elected the first host champions since Argentina in 1978 in Paris in 1998, they have struggled to repeat that success, losing the 2006 final to Italy and being eliminated in the Group Stage in both 2002 and 2010.
