England Versus France: The Last Ten Meetings Between Les Bleus And The Three Lions
It’s coming home. That’s what they say. England will now face France. It was probable from the beginning that we may have to play Les Bleus and most, if not all, football fans see France as a major contender.
England thrashed Iran, drew with the US and eventually brushed aside Gareth Bale’s Wales. England proved too much for Senegal to handle and now their biggest test in years will be against France.
With the old enemies facing off for the first time in five years, let’s take a look at the past ten meetings between the archrivals.
— England (@England) December 5, 2022
10. England 3-1 France, 16th June, 1982
Spain’s 1982 Fifa World Cup started with a bang – when Bryan Robson broke the record – at the time – for the quickest World Cup goal, scoring early in the first minute, assisted by Terry Butcher.
Moroccan-born France international Gerard Soler then scored the equaliser in the 25th minute to cancel out Robson’s effort.
Bobby Robson’s England side then went on to score two more goals, with Robson on the scoresheet again and Paul Marriner scoring the third.
England went on to win the group – going on to beat Czechoslovakia 2-0 and Kuwait 1-0.
9. France 0-0 England, 14th June, 1992
Euro 92 was hosted by Sweden and won by Denmark. This England-France game ended 0-0, a bore draw which proved to be Trevor Stevens’ final ever England cap. It would prove to be a disappointing tournament for England who finished bottom of the group.
A 2-1 loss to hosts Sweden and two 0-0 draws against France and Denmark sent England home early.
8. England 0-2 France, 10th February 1999
Howard Wilkinson was England’s temporary manager for this game with France, following Glenn Hoddle’s dismissal for his comments about disabled people eight days prior.
This was Wilkinson’s chance to stake his claim to be put in permanent charge. But his task was a difficult one – France were the reigning world champions and on a 16-match unbeaten run. Nicolas Anelka scored a brace in the second half, with both goals coming within seven minutes of each other.
7. France 1-1 England, 2nd September, 2000
England had just endured a miserable Euro 2000 campaign where they failed to qualify for the knockout stages. France on the other hand, had won the tournament after defeating Italy in the final.
Michael Owen scored a late equaliser after Emmanuel Petit had put the hosts ahead in the friendly at the Stade de France. But manager Kevin Keegan resigned the following month after losing the World Cup qualifier against Germany at Wembley.
6. France 2-1 England, 13th June, 2004
Who can forget Euro 2004, when Greece somehow beat Europe’s elite football nations to claim a famous and historic win over hosts Portugal in the final?
England faced off against France and went ahead via a Frank Lampard header. David Beckham did what he did best, swinging the ball in from outside the box. However, Zinedine Zidane went on to score two freak last-minute goals – a free-kick and a penalty – to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
David Beckham also had a penalty saved by goalkeeper Fabien Barthez.
5. France 1-0 England, 26th March, 2008
England suffered their first defeat under coach Fabio Capello with a disappointing performance in France. Franck Ribery scored the only goal from the penalty spot with 32 minutes gone after David James had spectacularly brought down Nicolas Anelka.
Florent Malouda, Anelka and Ribery all went close to a second, while Steven Gerrard twice headed wide on a night when England created very little. David Beckham lasted 63 minutes on the night he became the fifth England player to reach 100 caps.
4. England 1-2 France, 17th November, 2010
A late England rally could not disguise a gulf in class and technique as France earned a deserved victory at Wembley.
Fabio Capello gave youth its chance in the shape of debutants Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson – but the friendly provided few positives for the coach as France’s quality and composure left England distinctly second best.
Benzema and Valbuena goals were enough for a French victory. A goal in either half sent England to their first defeat of the season and gave France a well-earned victory on their first visit to Wembley. Peter Crouch’s late consolation with his first touch of the game was not enough for Capello’s men who came back well after being outplayed for much of the first hour.
3. France 1-1 England, June 11, 2012
England had appointed journeyman Roy Hodgson as their new manager to succeed the failure of Fabio Capello.
England’s opening Euro 2012 game ended in a stalemate as they played out a low-key draw with France in Donetsk. Poland and Ukraine were joint hosts just ten years ago.
Joleon Lescott gave England the lead with a header from captain Steven Gerrard’s free-kick – but France were level before the interval with a fine 20-yard finish from Lescott’s Manchester City team-mate Samir Nasri.
2. England 2-0 France, November 17, 2015
England beat France on an emotional night as more than 70,000 fans honoured the victims of the Paris attacks. A series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks took place just four days prior – on Friday 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city’s northern suburb, Saint-Denis.
Fans united to sing La Marseillaise – the French national anthem – in front of the Duke of Cambridge and Prime Minister David Cameron at Wembley. There was a perfectly observed minute’s silence, with both sets of players standing together.
The game ended 2-0 to England with goals courtesy of Dele Alli and Wayne Rooney.
1. France 3-2 England, June 13, 2017
Harry Kane led the proceedings, scoring in the 9th minute. France came back with two goals with Samuel Umtiti and Djibril Sidibe. Kane then found an equaliser from the penalty spot after being brought down by Raphael Varane – who saw red.
Ten-man France then battled against a wary England side – Ousmane Dembele scored a winner in the 78th minute to claim victory over the Three Lions.
Who do you think will win on Saturday? England or France?
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