France at the World Cup.
The story
France won at home in 1998 with Zinedine Zidane scoring twice in the final against Brazil — a generational moment. Twenty years later, a young French side led by 19-year-old Kylian Mbappé won in Russia in 2018, beating Croatia 4-2 in the final. Then came Qatar 2022, where France reached a third final in five tournaments only to lose to Argentina on penalties despite Mbappé's hat-trick. France's long history also includes Just Fontaine's record 13-goal tournament in 1958, a record that has stood for nearly 70 years.
Famous France players
Just Fontaine · Michel Platini · Zinedine Zidane · Thierry Henry · Lilian Thuram · Kylian Mbappé · Antoine Griezmann · N'Golo Kanté.
See our full top-20 World Cup legends list for tournament-by-tournament impact.
France in 2026
For France's 2026 World Cup campaign — group, fixtures, results — see our World Cup 2026 hub, the group standings and the match schedule.
More from the World Cup category
- → World Cup category index
- → World Cup 2026 — live hub
- → All-time top scorers
- → Country rankings — all-time medals
- → Finals history (1930-2022)
- → Golden Ball winners
- → Golden Glove winners
- → World Cup records
- → Famous supporter groups
- → Player legends — top 20
- → Country histories (Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy, France, Uruguay, Spain, England)