France - Team Fact Sheet

10 Fresh Facts about the French National Football Team

When you think of France, you think of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, cobbled boulevards, fresh baguettes, fine wine, skew berets, hoity-toity snobs, the language of love, romantic strolls along the Seine, fancy delicacies, high fashion, and rustic tableaux permeated by accordion music.

But in certain sports, like rugby and football, this nation of 65 million is a force to be reckoned with. They haven't just given the world liberté, fraternité, and egalité, they've given us the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry! For that, we'll always be grateful.

And now as they come off a bitter defeat at the hands of the Italians at the last World Cup, the French might just serve up a dish of cold, sweet revenge.

So here's the top 10 facts you need to know about France's football team:

10. The French team is nicknamed Les Bleus (The Blues), in reference to their blue uniforms. They're also called L'Equipe tricolore (The Tricolour team), after the French flag.

9. France played in the inaugural World Cup in 1930. In fact team member Lucien Laurent scored the first ever World Cup goal against Mexico. But that wasn't enough to stop Argentina and Chile from blanking them 1-0 each. Bye bye.

8. France has made 12 World Cup appearances, though 6 times they didn't make it past the First Round. They've also missed qualifying 6 times. But they've also taken Third Place twice, Second once, and the Cup once. A weird history, frankly.

7. The French side is coached by Raymond Domenech. A former defender with the French team and a bunch of French clubs, he led them to the World Cup final in 2006, and will try to do the same in 2010.

6. Lilian Thuram has the most caps for France with 142. He played for the French squad from 1994-2008, but retired early upon learning that he had a heart defect, the same that had killed his brother while playing basketball.

5. France's biggest win was against Azerbaijan in 1995, when they pummelled them 10-0. We doubt they'll have such an easy time in 2010.

4. Thierry Henry is France's captain and top scorer with 51 goals. A star at Arsenal for many years, he switched to Barcelona, where he immediately won the league, cup and Champions League treble.

3. FIFA ranked France 7th before the 2010 World Cup, far from their glory days as number one in 2001-2. But rankings mean nothing to the French. Just before they won the World Cup in 1998, they were ranked 25th. Take that FIFA!

2. France qualified for the 2010 World Cup just barely. After a poor start, they ended up edging out contender Ireland through a Thierry Henry handball, which everyone saw except the ref. Despite Irish appeals, the French are back again.

1. In 1998 France won the World Cup on home soil. They beat the defending champions Brazil 3-0 with two headers from Zinedine Zidane and a late goal in stoppage time from Emmanuel Petit. We'd love to see them try that again!