France women's national football team
Women's national association football team representing France / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The France women's national football team (French: Équipe de France féminine de football, sometimes shortened as Féminin A) represents France in international women's football. The team is directed by the French Football Federation (FFF). France competes as a member of UEFA in various international football tournaments such as the FIFA Women's World Cup, UEFA Women's Euro, the Summer Olympics, and the Algarve Cup.
Nickname(s) | Les Bleues (The Blues) | ||
---|---|---|---|
Association | Fédération Française de Football (FFF) | ||
Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
Head coach | Hervé Renard | ||
Captain | Wendie Renard | ||
Most caps | Sandrine Soubeyrand (198) | ||
Top scorer | Eugénie Le Sommer (93) | ||
FIFA code | FRA | ||
| |||
FIFA ranking | |||
Current | 3 (15 March 2024)[1] | ||
Highest | 3 (December 2014 – June 2017, June 2018, December 2018, March – December 2020, June 2021, March – June 2022; December 2023 – March 2024) | ||
Lowest | 10 (September 2009) | ||
First international | |||
France 4–0 Netherlands (Hazebrouck, France; 17 April 1971) | |||
Biggest win | |||
France 14–0 Algeria (Cesson-Sévigné, France; 14 May 1998) France 14–0 Bulgaria (Le Mans, France; 28 November 2013) | |||
Biggest defeat | |||
Germany 7–0 France (Bad Kreuznach, Germany; 2 September 1992)[2] | |||
World Cup | |||
Appearances | 5 (first in 2003) | ||
Best result | Fourth place (2011) | ||
European Championship | |||
Appearances | 7 (first in 1997) | ||
Best result | Semi-finals (2022) |
The France women's national team initially struggled on the international stage failing to qualify for three of the first FIFA Women's World Cups and the six straight UEFA European Championships before reaching the quarter-finals in the 1997 edition of the competition. However, since the beginning of the new millennium, France have become one of the most consistent teams in Europe, having qualified for their first-ever FIFA Women's World Cup in 2003 and reaching the quarter-finals in two of the three European Championships held since 2000. In 2011, France recorded a fourth-place finish at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup; its best finish overall at the competition. In the following year, the team captured the 2012 Cyprus Cup and the fourth place at Women's Olympic Football Tournament.
Hervé Renard has been team manager since March 2023.[3] The current captain of the national team is defender Wendie Renard.[4]