French Team

Know your facts: The French football team 2010

By Rebecca Connell
16/06/2010

Apparently there’s this big football thing going on at the moment?

I don’t know if you’ve heard about it, it’s happening in South Africa: The World Cup something or other…

In truth, we at France in London are only too aware that World Cup Season is upon us; it’s just that, after France’s rather embarrassing first performance, we haven’t really felt like shouting about it.

But what must be done must be done, and so for your sake we are going to take a closer look:
If you have already decided to support “Les Bleus” then you probably are aware of the various team members. For those of you who are reading this to learn a bit more about your opposition, we have decided to give you a little overview of the players. This is, in no way, to give you an advantage, but rather to warn you that, contrary to what you may have thought after watching them play on Friday, they are actually a force to be reckoned with!

#	Name	DOB	Club	Caps	Goals	Debut
Goalkeepers
1	Hugo Lloris	26 December 1986 (age 23)	Lyon	12	0	v  Uruguay; 19 November 2008
16	Steve Mandanda	28 March 1985 (age 25)	Marseille	13	0	v  Ecuador; 27 May 2008
23	Cédric Carrasso	30 December 1981 (age 28)	Bordeaux	0	0
Defenders
2	Bacary Sagna	14 February 1983 (age 27)	Arsenal	21	0	v  Slovakia; 22 August 2007
3	Éric Abidal	11 September 1979 (age 30)	Barcelona	56	0	v  Bosnia and Herzegovina; 18 August 2004
4	Anthony Réveillère	10 November 1979 (age 30)	Lyon	6	0	v  Israel; 11 October 2003
5	William Gallas	17 August 1977 (age 32)	Arsenal	82	5	v  Slovenia; 12 October 2002
6	Marc Planus	7 March 1982 (age 28)	Bordeaux	1	0	v  Tunisia; 30 May 2010
13	Patrice Evra	15 May 1981 (age 29)	Manchester United	31	0	v  Bosnia and Herzegovina; 18 August 2004
17	Sébastien Squillaci	11 August 1980 (age 29)	Sevilla	20	0	v  Bosnia and Herzegovina; 18 August 2004
22	Gaël Clichy	26 July 1985 (age 24)	Arsenal	4	0	v  Serbia; 10 September 2008
Midfielders
7	Franck Ribéry	7 April 1983 (age 27)	Bayern Munich	46	7	v  Mexico; 27 May 2006
8	Yoann Gourcuff	11 July 1986 (age 23)	Bordeaux	21	1	v  Sweden; 11 August 2008
10	Sidney Govou	27 July 1979 (age 30)	Lyon	47	10	v  Tunisia; 22 August 2001
14	Jérémy Toulalan	10 September 1983 (age 26)	Lyon	35	0	v  Faroe Islands; 11 October 2006
15	Florent Malouda	13 June 1980 (age 30)	Chelsea	55	3	v  Poland; 17 November 2004
18	Alou Diarra	15 July 1981 (age 28)	Bordeaux	25	0	v  Republic of Ireland; 9 October 2004
19	Abou Diaby	11 May 1986 (age 24)	Arsenal	6	0	v  Lithuania; 24 March 2007
20	Mathieu Valbuena	28 September 1984 (age 25)	Marseille	2	1	v  Costa Rica; 26 May 2010
Strikers
9	Djibril Cissé	12 August 1981 (age 28)	Panathinaikos	39	9	v  Belgium; 18 May 2002
11	André-Pierre Gignac	5 December 1985 (age 24)	Toulouse	14	4	v  Lithuania; 1 April 2009
12	Thierry Henry	17 August 1977 (age 32)	Barcelona	122	51	v  South Africa; 11 October 1997
21	Nicolas Anelka	14 March 1979 (age 31)	Chelsea	68	14	v  Sweden; 22 April 1998

Franck Ribéry showing off his footwork

Recent call-ups

Name	DOB	Club	Caps	Goals	Most recent callup
Goalkeepers
Mickaël Landreau	14 May 1979 (age 31)	Lille	11	0	v  Costa Rica; 26 May 2010
Nicolas Douchez	22 April 1980 (age 30)	Rennes	0	0	v  Austria; 14 October 2009
Defenders
Rod Fanni	6 December 1981 (age 28)	Rennes	4	0	v  Costa Rica; 26 May 2010
Adil Rami	27 December 1985 (age 24)	Lille	0	0	v  Costa Rica; 26 May 2010
Aly Cissokho	15 September 1987 (age 22)	Lyon	0	0	v  Spain; 3 March 2010
Michaël Ciani	6 April 1984 (age 26)	Bordeaux	1	0	v  Spain; 3 March 2010
Julien Escudé	17 August 1979 (age 30)	Sevilla	13	0	v  Spain; 3 March 2010
Jean-Alain Boumsong	14 December 1979 (age 30)	Lyon	27	1	v  Spain; 3 March 2010
Philippe Mexès	30 March 1982 (age 28)	Roma	13	0	v  Turkey; 5 June 2009
Midfielders
Lassana Diarra	10 March 1985 (age 25)	Real Madrid	27	0	v  Costa Rica; 26 May 2010
Yann M'Vila	29 June 1990 (age 19)	Rennes	0	0	v  Costa Rica; 26 May 2010
Benoît Cheyrou	3 May 1981 (age 29)	Marseille	0	0	v  Spain; 3 March 2010
Moussa Sissoko	16 August 1989 (age 20)	Toulouse	2	0	v  Spain; 3 March 2010
Patrick Vieira	23 June 1976 (age 33)	Manchester City	107	6	v  Turkey; 5 June 2009
Strikers
Hatem Ben Arfa	7 March 1987 (age 23)	Marseille	7	1	v  Costa Rica; 26 May 2010
Jimmy Briand	2 August 1985 (age 24)	Rennes	3	0	v  Costa Rica; 26 May 2010
Karim Benzema	19 December 1987 (age 22)	Real Madrid	27	8	v  Spain; 3 March 2010
Loïc Rémy	2 January 1987 (age 23)	Nice	1	0	v  Spain; 3 March 2010
Louis Saha	8 August 1978 (age 31)	Everton	18	4	v  Spain; 3 March 2010
Bafétimbi Gomis	6 August 1985 (age 24)	Lyon	5	2	v  Austria; 14 October 2009

The Results so far…

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

First Round 12 August 2009

Faroe Islands

0 – 1

France

Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn

First Round 5 September 2009

France

1 – 1

Romania

Stade de France, Saint-Denis

First Round 9 September 2009

Serbia

1 – 1

France

Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade

First Round 10 October 2009

France

5 – 0

Faroe Islands

Stade du Roudourou, Guingamp

First Round 14 October 2009

France

3 – 1

Austria

Stade de France, Saint-Denis

Second Round 14 November 2009

Republic of Ireland

0 – 1

France

Croke Park, Dublin

Second Round 18 November 2009

France

1 – 1

Republic of Ireland

Stade de France, Saint-Denis

Friendly

3 March 2010

France

0 – 2

Spain

Stade de France, Saint-Denis

26 May 2010

France

2 – 1

Costa Rica

Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens

30 May 2010

Tunisia

1 – 1

France

Stade 7 November, Radès

4 June 2010

France

0 – 1

China PR

Stade Michel Volnay, Saint-Pierre, Réunion

2010 FIFA World Cup

Group Stage 11 June 2010

Uruguay

0 – 0

France

Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town

Group Stage 17 June 2010

France

0 – 2

Mexico

Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane

Group Stage 22 June 2010

France

1 – 2

South Africa

Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein

Their titles:

Preceded by 1994 Brazil	World Champions 1998 (First title)	Succeeded by 2002 Brazil
Preceded by 1999 Mexico	Confederations Cup Winners 2001 (First title) 2003 (Second title)	Succeeded by 2005 Brazil
Preceded by 1980 West Germany	European Champions 1984 (First title)	Succeeded by 1988 Netherlands
Preceded by 1996 Germany	European Champions 2000 (Second title)	Succeeded by 2004 Greece
Preceded by Inaugural Event	Artemio Franchi Trophy 1985 (First title)	Succeeded by 1993 Argentina
Preceded by 1993 Hungary	Kirin Cup Champions 1994 (First title)	Succeeded by 1995 Japan
Preceded by 1996 Croatia	King Hassan II Cup Winners 1998 (First title) 2000 (Second title)	Succeeded by Incumbent