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FIFA World Cup 2026: France - World Cup Records and Stats

In this article, take a look at the France World Cup Records and Stats. The two-time FIFA World Cup winners France are now considered as one of the strongest teams in the football world.

11.06.2026

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Sandipan Ghosh

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The two-time FIFA World Cup winners France are now considered one of the strongest teams in the football world. The UEFA side France played the last two World Cup finals, winning the 2018 edition and runners-up in the 2022 edition. According to many experts, they are still among the favourites for this forthcoming tournament. Check here France’s qualification journey to the 2026 World Cup

Before the FIFA World Cup 2026, let’s check out some crucial FIFA World Cup records and stats for France.

Note: All the records are till FIFA World Cup 2022

(Team Records)

Contents

Brief records
Hosts
Best Result
Final place in every edition
Last records
Match records (Top 3)

> Biggest winning margin

> Biggest losing margin

Fair Play Trophy

France’s brief records in FIFA World Cup history

Participation	Matches	Won	Drawn*	Penalty shootout		Lost	Winning %*
				Won	Lost
16/22	73	39	14	2	3	20	53.42

(Drawn: including penalty shootout matches; Winning %: excluding penalty shootouts)

Hosts: 1938 (Quarter-finals) and 1998 (Champions)

Best Result: Champions (1998 and 2018)

France’s final place in every FIFA World Cup

Year	Host(s)	Last position
1930	Uruguay	Group Stage
1934	Italy	First Round (Round of 16)
1938	France	Quarter-finals
1950	Brazil	Withdrew
1954	Switzerland	Group Stage
1958	Sweden	Third Place
1962	Chile	Did not qualify
1966	England	Group Stage
1970	Mexico	Did not qualify
1974	West Germany	Did not qualify
1978	Argentina	Group Stage
1982	Spain	Fourth Place
1986	Mexico	Third Place
1990	Italy	Did not qualify
1994	USA	Did not qualify
1998	France	Champions
2002	South Korea & Japan	Group Stage
2006	Germany	Runners-up
2010	South Africa	Group Stage
2014	Brazil	Quarter-finals
2018	Russia	Champions
2022	Qatar	Runners-up

Last time in FIFA World Cup for France

Last Champions: 2018

Last Runners-up: 2022

Last Finalists: 2022

Last Third Place: 1986

Last Fourth Place: 1982

Last Semi-finals exit: 1986

Last Quarter-finals exit: 2014

Last Round of 16 exit: 1934

Last Group Stage exit: 2010

Last Failed to Qualify: 1994

France’s match records in FIFA World Cup (Top 3)

Biggest winning margin	Biggest losing margin
7-3 vs Paraguay in 1958	5-2 vs Brazil in 1958
4-0 vs Northern Ireland in 1958	3-1 vs Italy in 1938
4-0 vs Saudi Arabia in 1998	3-1 vs England in 1982

France’s FIFA Fair Play Trophy

1998 (jointly with England)

(Players’ Records)

Contents

Most FIFA World Cup editions
Top 5 most appearances
Top 5 most goals
World Record
Awards (only official competition awards)

Most FIFA World Cup editions for France

Thierry Henry (1998, 2002, 2006, and 2010) and Hugo Lloris (2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022) both played 4 FIFA World Cup editions for France.

Top 5 most appearances for France in FIFA World Cup

Player	Appearances
Hugo Lloris	20
Antoine Griezmann	19
Olivier Giroud	18
Raphaël Varane	18
Fabien Barthez	17
Thierry Henry	17

Top 5 most goals for France in FIFA World Cup

Player	Goals
Just Fontaine	13
Kylian Mbappé	12
Thierry Henry	6
Michel Platini	5
Zinedine Zidane	5
Olivier Giroud	5

*Still Playing

World Record from France

Most goals in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup: In FIFA World Cup 1958, Just Fontaine scored 13 goals. It is the World Record for most goals in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup.

Goalkeeper with most FIFA World Cup matches without conceding a goal: Along with English goalie Peter Shilton, Fabien Barthez also holds the record for most FIFA World Cup matches without conceding a goal (10 matches).