France are now just one win away from retaining their title at the 2022 FIFA World Cup after Didier Deschamps led Les Bleus to glory in Russia four years ago.
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Despite his status as a polarizing figure, Deschamps has already secured the biggest title in international football twice, as both a player and a coach with the French side.
Their shock Euro 2020 exit at the last-16 stage, however, coupled with a number of injuries saw their status as contenders heading into Qatar questioned, but they have once again progressed to the final.
How many times has France won the World Cup?
France’s glory in Russia in 2018 crowned them as world champions for a second time, 20 years on from their iconic first World Cup win in Paris in 1998.
Deschamps captained a Zinedine Zidane-inspired Les Bleus side on home soil in ’98, and their win was hailed for its impact on improving multiculturalism and diversity within the host nation.
Should France triumph in 2022, they’d become just the fourth nation to win the World Cup three times – a feat Argentina are also looking to match.
France World Cup history
France have regularly found themselves amongst the stronger sides at a World Cup but prior to 1998, they were unable to harness undoubted talent into success.
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Michel Platini’s France reached successive semifinals in 1982 and 1986 but they were unable to break the Italy, Argentina and West Germany stranglehold on finals.
Glory in Paris in 1998 crowned them as the first host champions since Argentina in 1978, but inconsistency has dogged them since, with a final defeat to Italy in 2006 flanked by group-stage exits in 2002 and 2010.
How many times has France won the World Cup?
| World Cup | Stage Reached | Record (W-D-L) | Goals Scored |
| 1930 | Group Stage | 1-0-2 | 4 |
| 1934 | Round of 16 | 0-0-1 | 2 |
| 1938 | Quarterfinals | 1-0-1 | 4 |
| 1950 | DNQ* | – | – |
| 1954 | Group Stage | 1-0-1 | 3 |
| 1958 | Third Place | 4-0-2 | 23 |
| 1962 | DNQ | – | – |
| 1966 | Group Stage | 0-1-2 | 2 |
| 1970 | DNQ | – | – |
| 1974 | DNQ | – | – |
| 1978 | Group Stage | 1-0-2 | 5 |
| 1982 | Fourth Place | 3-2-2 | 16 |
| 1986 | Third Place | 4-2-1 | 12 |
| 1990 | DNQ | – | – |
| 1994 | DNQ | – | – |
| 1998 | Won | 6-1-0 | 15 |
| 2002 | Group Stage | 0-1-2 | 0 |
| 2006 | Runners Up | 4-3-0 | 9 |
| 2010 | Group Stage | 0-1-2 | 1 |
| 2014 | Quarterfinals | 3-1-1 | 10 |
| 2018 | Won | 6-1-0 | 14 |
Has Kylian Mbappe won a World Cup?
Paris Saint-Germain hot-shot Mbappe made his tournament bow in Russia, as Deschamps deployed him alongside Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud.
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His role in driving France on in Russia kicked off with a winning goal in their 1-0 group-stage win over Peru, before he scored twice in the 4-3 last-16 victory against Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
However, his crowning moment came in the 4-2 final glory against Croatia, where his late strike made him only the second teenager to score in a World Cup final, after Pele in 1958.
| World Cup Stage | Opponent | Mins Played | Goals |
| Group Stage | Australia | 90 | 0 |
| Group Stage | Peru | 75 | 1 |
| Group Stage | Denmark | 12 | 0 |
| Round of 16 | Argentina | 89 | 2 |
| Quarterfinals | Uruguay | 88 | 0 |
| Semifinals | Belgium | 90 | 0 |
| Final | Croatia | 90 | 1 |
