France are among the favourites to emerge as the kings of Europe this summer as Les Bleus head to Germany for Euro 2024.
On the back of losing out to Argentina in an epic 2022 FIFA World Cup final, Didier Deschamps’ side are looking to bounce back and secure another major title, with talisman Kylian Mbappe wearing the captain’s armband.
Mbappe has dominated headlines since the start of 2024. His long-awaited free transfer to Real Madrid, after opting to leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the domestic campaign, has been discussed and analysed for weeks on end.
However, Mbappe’s sole attention for the coming weeks will be on his national side, as he aims to lead France to glory ahead of likely rivals Germany and England.
MORE: Who has qualified for Euro 2024?
A European Championship title is not on Mbappe’s list of achievements, despite the player winning a string of domestic honours at PSG, and the World Cup with France in 2018, before scoring a hat-trick in the final four years later.
His move to Real Madrid is heavily motivated by a desire to win the UEFA Champions League and he will be pushing for continental supremacy with France in the weeks ahead.
France have won the European Championship twice in their history, firstly as hosts in 1984, and again in 2000 as part of a ‘double’ with the 1998 World Cup.
Mbappe made his France senior debut in March 2017 and he went on to score four goals as France lifted the World Cup in Russia in 2018.
However, his European Championship record is less eye-catching, as he failed to score at Euro 2020, despite starting all four France games at the tournament.
Deschamps’ team lost out on penalties to Switzerland at the Round of 16 stage with Mbappe missing the decisive spot-kick.
Year | Host Nation | Games Played | Goals Scored | Stage Reached | Eliminated By |
2020 | Multiple | 4 | 0 | Round of 16 | Switzerland |
2024 | Germany | 1 | 0 | TBD | TBD |
Mbappe will be looking to make up for his Euro 2020 struggles this summer, with France having been placed in Group D alongside the Netherlands, Poland and Austria.
France’s first game was a 1-0 win against Austria in Dusseldorf on June 17, in which Mbappe suffered a worrying suspected broken nose. That was followed by a clash with the Netherlands on June 21 in Leipzig, but Mbappe was absent for that with his injury.
They finish up the group stage against Poland on June 25 in Dortmund.
Fixture | Date | Venue | KO time (Local, CET) |
Austria 0-1 France | June 17, 2023 | Dusseldorf (Merkur Spiel-Arena) | 9 p.m. |
Netherlands 0-0 France | June 21, 2023 | Leipzig (Red Bull Arena) | 9 p.m. |
France vs. Poland | June 25, 2023 | Dortmund (Westfalenstadion) | 6 p.m. |
Finishing first or second in this group is not likely to make a huge difference in terms of the difficulty for France in the Round of 16.
If France win their group, they will face the runners-up of Group F, likely to be Turkey or Czechia. If they finish second, they will meet the runners-up of Group E, which is possibly Slovakia, Romania or Ukraine.
The former scenario would potentially pit them against Belgium in the quarterfinals; the latter could see them face Portugal at that stage.
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