France defeated Morocco in the World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday night, extending their strong championship defense.
After defeating England in the quarterfinals, Les Bleus eliminated Morocco, who had become the first African and Arab team to reach the semifinals in World Cup history.
It is not the first time the French have reached the final of the World Cup. As one of the worldwide powerhouses of the position, France has won the competition twice in its history, but they have not always had their way in the finals.
Before their match against Argentina, below is their final record.
The record of France in the World Cup finals
With their win against Morocco, France advances to their fourth World Cup final.
Despite having talents like Michel Platini and Maxime Bossis in the 1980s, Les Bleus did not reach a final on home soil until 1998. The elimination round victories against Paraguay, Italy, and Croatia were followed by a resounding 3-0 final victory over Brazil.
France won the World Cup for the first time thanks to a first-half brace from Zinedine Zidane and an injury-time goal from Emmanuel Petit.
France was ousted from the 2002 tournament at the group stage after suffering losses to Senegal and Denmark. Zidane, Thierry Henry, and Patrick Vieira played pivotal roles as France defeated Spain, Brazil, and Portugal in the knockout round in 2006.
They could not cross the finish line when Zidane was sent off in extra time, and Italy won the penalty shootout.
2010 saw another departure in the group stage, followed by a loss to Germany in the quarterfinals in 2014. A core containing Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, and Paul Pogba led Les Bleus to a second World Cup victory in Russia in 2018, thanks to their efforts.
They defeated Lionel Messi and Argentina in a 4-3 thriller in the round of 16 before defeating Uruguay, Belgium, and Croatia in the final.
France’s record in finals of the European Championship
Additionally, France has won the European Championship thrice. At the 1984 tournament, Platini scored nine goals, including one in the 2-0 victory over Spain at Parc des Princes.
They almost reached the final in 1996 but were eliminated in the quarterfinals before capturing their second championship in 2000. David Trezeguet’s golden goal in the 103rd minute helped Les Bleus overcome Italy 2-1 in the final in Belgium and the Netherlands. Les Bleus had already won the World Cup two years ago.
Hugo Lloris, Griezmann, Olivier Giroud, and Kingsley Coman are all current France team players that had previously participated in the Euros championship game. In 2016, despite being big favorites against Portugal, who rapidly lost Cristiano Ronaldo to injury, they were defeated by Eder’s goal in the 109th minute.
