France national under-21 football team

France Under-21
	Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)	Les Bleuets (The Little Blues) ; Les Espoirs (The Hopes)
Association	French Football Federation
Head coach	Sylvain Ripoll
Most caps	Mickaël Landreau (43)
Top scorer	Odsonne Édouard (17)
First colours	Second colours
First international
	France 7–1 England ; (Le Havre, France; 22 May 1952)
Biggest win
	France 7–0 Yugoslavia ; (Reims, France; 16 November 1985)
Biggest defeat
	England 6–0 France ; (Sheffield, England; 28 February 1984); Records for competitive; matches only.
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances	9 (first in 1982)
Best result	Winners (1988)

The France national under-21 football team (French: Equipe de France Espoirs), known in France as Les Espoirs (French pronunciation: [ɛs.pwaʁ], The Hopes), is the national under-21 football team of France and is controlled by the French Football Federation. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years.

Following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976, under-21 football teams in Europe were formed. The team is exclusively for football players that are age 21 or under at the start of the two-year campaign of the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship meaning a player can represent the national team until the age of 23.

France has won the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship once in 1988. Notable players on the team that went on to play for the senior national team include Laurent Blanc, Eric Cantona, Franck Sauzée, and Jocelyn Angloma, among others.^[1] Blanc was named the tournament's Golden Player.^[2] The team's best finish since was in 2002 when the team finished runner-up to the Czech Republic in Switzerland.

The France under-21 team does not have a permanent home. The team plays in stadiums located all around France, particularly grounds of Ligue 2 clubs. Because of the smaller demand compared to the senior national team, smaller facilities are used. Recently, the under-21 team has established the Stade Auguste-Delaune II, home of Stade Reims, as a home residence having played numerous matches there over the past two seasons.

History

Though, under-21 teams weren't formed until 1976, Les Espoirs, a youth national team in France, had existed since 1950 playing its first match on 22 May 1952 defeating England 7–1 at the Stade Jules Deschaseaux in Le Havre. The team's next match was two years later suffering a 3–1 defeat to Italy in Vicenza. For the rest of the decade, the youth team played seven more matches, which included a 1–1 draw with Hungary in Budapest and a 2–0 loss to England in Sunderland in 1959. In the 1960s, Espoirs continued to play matches against fellow national youth sides. However, on 18 December 1968, the team contested a match against Algeria senior team in Algiers recording an impressive 5–2 victory. Four days later, the team draw 1–1 with the under-23 team of Algeria in Oran. On 12 February 1969, the Espoirs played the Hungary senior team at the Stade Gerland in Lyon. The match ended in a 2–2 draw.

Team image

Media coverage

France's under-21 football friendlies and qualifying matches are broadcast by Direct 8.

Results and fixtures

Legend

Win Draw Lose Fixture

2021

31 May 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship QF	Netherlands	2–1	France	Budapest, Hungary
18:00	Boadu 51', 90+3'	Report	Upamecano 23'	Stadium: Bozsik Aréna Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy)

2 September 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group H	France	3–0	North Macedonia	Le Mans, France
18:30	Mbuku 26' Camavinga 50' Kalulu 89'	Report		Stadium: MMArena Referee: Juri Frischer (Estonia)

6 September 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group H	Faroe Islands	1–1	France	Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
18:30	Løkin 55'	Report	Gouiri 8'	Stadium: Gundadalur Referee: Volen Chinkov (Belarus)

8 October 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group H	France	5–0	Ukraine	Brest, France
	Kalimuendo 40' Diop 43' Adli 54' Cherki 68', 80'	Report		Stadium: Stade Francis-Le Blé Referee: Nick Walsh (Scotland)

12 October 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group H	Serbia	0–3	France	Belgrade, Serbia
		Report	Adli 29' Gouiri 43' (pen.) Cherki 87'	Stadium: Partizan Stadium Referee: Nicolas Laforge (Belgium)

11 November 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group H	France	7–0	Armenia	Grenoble, France
	Caqueret 11' Diop 27', 50' Cherki 35' Kalimuendo 58', 70' Le Fée 82'	Report		Stadium: Stade des Alpes Referee: Andrei Chivulete (Romania)

16 November 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group H	North Macedonia	0–1	France	Skopje, North Macedonia
		Report	Kalulu 75'	Stadium: Toše Proeski Arena Referee: Arda Kardeşler (Turkey)

2022

24 March 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group H	France	2–0	Faroe Islands	Calais, France
	Camavinga 23' Johannesen 82' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Stade de l'Épopée Referee: Luka Bilbija (Bosnia)

28 March Friendly	France	5–0	Northern Ireland	Calais, France
	Larouci 21' Diop 64' Gouiri 66' Caqueret 73' Kalimuendo 76'	Report		Stadium: Stade de l'Épopée Referee: Robert Jones (England)

2 June 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group H	France	2–0	Serbia	Grenoble, France
20:45	Thuram 42' Gouiri 60'	Report		Stadium: Stade des Alpes Referee: Donald Robertson (Scotland)

6 June 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group H	Armenia	1–4	France	Yerevan, Armenia
20:45	Shaghoyan 69'	Report	Le Fée 21', 76' Gouiri 66' (pen.) Gusto 89'	Stadium: Yerevan Football Academy Stadium Referee: Joni Hyytiä (Finland)

9 June 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group H	Ukraine	3–3	France	Istanbul, Turkey
	Vanat 7' Badiashile 44' (o.g.) Bondarenko 50'	Report	Abline 3' Thuram 10' Gouiri 25'	Stadium: Esenyurt Necmi Kadıoğlu Stadium Referee: Vassilis Fotias (Greece)
Note: The match was originally scheduled to be played on 29 March 2022 at Arena Lviv, Lviv but due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine was unable to host the match.

23 September Friendly	Germany	0–1	France	Magdeburg, Germany
		Report	Gouiri 52'	Stadium: MDCC-Arena Referee: Krzysztof Jakubik (Poland)

26 September Friendly	France	2–2	Belgium	Valenciennes, France
	Nianzou 51' Wahi 77'	Report	Ramazani 41' Verschaeren 58'	Stadium: Stade du Hainaut Attendance: 9,768 Referee: Alessandro Dudic (Switzerland)

19 November Friendly	France	v	Norway	Caen, France
				Stadium: Stade Michel d'Ornano

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

As of 22 April 2021

Position	Name	Nationality
Manager	Sylvain Ripoll	French
Assistant manager	Patrice Gonfalone	French
Assistant manager	José Alcocer	French
Goalkeeping coach	Sylvain Matrisciano	French
Doctor	François Brochet	French
Physiotherapist	Guy Puravet	French

Players

Current squad

For the 2021–22 and 2022–23 seasons, including the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, players born on or after 1 January 2000 are eligible.

The following 23 players were called up for friendly matches against Germany and Belgium on 23 and 26 September 2022, respectively.^[3]

Note: Names in italics denote players that have been capped by the senior team.

Caps and goals as of 26 September 2022, after the team's match against Belgium.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Illan Meslier	(2000-03-02) 2 March 2000 (age 24)	11	0	Leeds United
16	1GK	Yahia Fofana	(2000-08-21) 21 August 2000 (age 24)	1	0	Angers
23	1GK	Guillaume Dietsch	(2001-04-17) 17 April 2001 (age 23)	1	0	Seraing

2	2DF	Wesley Fofana	(2000-12-17) 17 December 2000 (age 23)	7	0	Chelsea
3	2DF	Yasser Larouci	(2001-01-01) 1 January 2001 (age 23)	2	1	Troyes
4	2DF	Bafodé Diakité	(2001-01-06) 6 January 2001 (age 23)	1	0	Lille
5	2DF	Tanguy Nianzou	(2002-06-07) 7 June 2002 (age 22)	1	1	Sevilla
14	2DF	Castello Lukeba	(2002-12-17) 17 December 2002 (age 21)	4	0	Lyon
17	2DF	Malo Gusto	(2003-05-19) 19 May 2003 (age 21)	6	1	Lyon
20	2DF	Pierre Kalulu	(2000-06-05) 5 June 2000 (age 24)	14	2	Milan
21	2DF	Quentin Merlin	(2002-05-16) 16 May 2002 (age 22)	4	0	Nantes

6	3MF	Enzo Le Fée	(2000-02-03) 3 February 2000 (age 24)	9	3	Lorient
7	3MF	Kouadio Koné	(2001-05-17) 17 May 2001 (age 23)	5	0	Borussia Mönchengladbach
8	3MF	Maxence Caqueret	(2000-02-15) 15 February 2000 (age 24)	18	2	Lyon
12	3MF	Sofiane Diop	(2000-06-09) 9 June 2000 (age 24)	13	4	Nice
13	3MF	Joris Chotard	(2001-09-24) 24 September 2001 (age 22)	5	0	Montpellier
19	3MF	Khéphren Thuram	(2001-03-26) 26 March 2001 (age 23)	13	2	Nice

9	4FW	Arnaud Kalimuendo	(2002-01-20) 20 January 2002 (age 22)	14	4	Rennes
10	4FW	Rayan Cherki	(2003-08-17) 17 August 2003 (age 21)	6	4	Lyon
11	4FW	Amine Gouiri	(2000-02-16) 16 February 2000 (age 24)	23	11	Rennes
15	4FW	Elye Wahi	(2003-01-02) 2 January 2003 (age 21)	2	1	Montpellier
18	4FW	Georginio Rutter	(2002-04-20) 20 April 2002 (age 22)	4	0	1899 Hoffenheim
22	4FW	Nathan Ngoumou	(2000-03-14) 14 March 2000 (age 24)	9	0	Borussia Mönchengladbach

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the France under-21 squad and remain eligible:

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Stefan Bajic	(2001-12-23) 23 December 2001 (age 22)	1	0	Bristol City	v. Northern Ireland, 28 March 2022
GK	Lucas Chevalier	(2001-11-06) 6 November 2001 (age 22)	0	0	Lille	v. Northern Ireland, 28 March 2022

DF	Adrien Truffert	(2001-01-20) 20 January 2001 (age 23)	14	0	Rennes	v. Germany, 23 September 2022 ^SEN
DF	Benoît Badiashile (vice-captain)	(2001-03-26) 26 March 2001 (age 23)	16	0	Monaco	v. Ukraine, 9 June 2022
DF	Warmed Omari	(2000-04-23) 23 April 2000 (age 24)	2	0	Rennes	v. Ukraine, 9 June 2022
DF	William Saliba (captain)	(2001-03-24) 24 March 2001 (age 23)	5	0	Arsenal	v. Faroe Islands, 24 March 2022 ^SEN
DF	Loïc Badé	(2000-04-11) 11 April 2000 (age 24)	3	0	Nottingham Forest	v. North Macedonia, 16 November 2021
DF	Melvin Bard	(2000-11-06) 6 November 2000 (age 23)	3	0	Nice	v. Armenia, 11 November 2021 ^INJ
DF	Andy Pelmard	(2000-03-12) 12 March 2000 (age 24)	2	0	Basel	v. Faroe Islands, 6 September 2021
DF	Rayan Aït-Nouri	(2001-06-06) 6 June 2001 (age 23)	5	0	Wolverhampton Wanderers	v. Liechtenstein, 12 November 2020 ^INJ

MF	Eduardo Camavinga	(2002-11-10) 10 November 2002 (age 21)	13	2	Real Madrid	v. Ukraine, 9 June 2022
MF	Michael Olise	(2001-12-12) 12 December 2001 (age 22)	1	0	Crystal Palace	v. Northern Ireland, 28 March 2022 ^INJ
MF	Alexis Beka Beka	(2001-03-29) 29 March 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Nice	v. Serbia, 12 October 2021
MF	Aurélien Tchouaméni	(2000-01-27) 27 January 2000 (age 24)	4	0	Real Madrid	v. Liechtenstein, 12 November 2020 ^INJ

FW	Mohamed-Ali Cho	(2004-01-19) 19 January 2004 (age 20)	7	0	Real Sociedad	v. Germany, 23 September 2022 ^INJ
FW	Matthis Abline	(2003-03-28) 28 March 2003 (age 21)	2	1	Rennes	v. Ukraine, 9 June 2022
FW	Amine Adli	(2000-05-10) 10 May 2000 (age 24)	5	2	Bayer Leverkusen	v. Northern Ireland, 28 March 2022 ^INJ
FW	Hugo Ekitike	(2002-06-20) 20 June 2002 (age 22)	0	0	Paris Saint-Germain	v. North Macedonia, 16 November 2021
FW	Janis Antiste	(2002-08-18) 18 August 2002 (age 22)	1	0	Sassuolo	v. Serbia, 12 October 2021
FW	Nathanaël Mbuku	(2002-03-16) 16 March 2002 (age 22)	2	1	Reims	v. Faroe Islands, 6 September 2021
FW	Sékou Mara	(2002-07-30) 30 July 2002 (age 22)	2	0	Southampton	v. Faroe Islands, 6 September 2021
FW	Isaac Lihadji	(2002-04-10) 10 April 2002 (age 22)	2	1	Lille	v. Switzerland, 16 November 2020
FW	Éric Junior Dina Ebimbe	(2000-11-21) 21 November 2000 (age 23)	1	0	Eintracht Frankfurt	v. Azerbaijan, 7 September 2020

Notes

Players in italics have played at senior level.
^COV Withdrew due to COVID-19
^CLU Player withdrew from the squad because of a club necessity.
^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
^SEN Player withdrew from the squad due to a call up to the senior team.
^SH Player sent home by team staff.

Previous squads

U-21 European Championship squads

Honours

UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Champions (1): 1988

Runners-up (1): 2002

Toulon Tournament

Champions (12): 1977, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2015

Finalists (14): 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1986, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2016

Competitive record

UEFA U-23 Championship

1972: Did not qualify. Finished 4th of 4 in qualification group.
1974: Did not qualify. Finished 3rd of 3 in qualification group.
1976: Losing quarter-finalists.

UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1978	Did not qualify	4	0	1	3	4	6
1980	Did not qualify	4	2	1	1	3	2
1982	Quarterfinals	6	3	1	2	9	8
1984	Quarterfinals	6	3	1	2	11	9
1986	Quarterfinals	8	2	3	3	13	13
1988	Champions	12	6	5	1	21	13
1990	Did not qualify	6	3	2	1	11	7
1992	Did not qualify	8	3	2	3	7	5
1994	Fourth Place	14	10	2	2	24	8
1996	Third Place	14	8	4	2	30	5
1998	Did not qualify	8	4	3	1	13	8
2000	Did not qualify	8	6	2	2	19	6
2002	Runners-Up	15	12	3	0	27	7
2004	Did not qualify	10	8	1	1	20	7
2006	Semi-finals	14	10	2	2	24	10
2007	Did not qualify	4	2	1	1	6	3
2009		10	5	3	2	17	7
2011		8	4	3	1	12	6
2013		10	8	0	2	23	7
2015		10	8	1	1	31	11
2017		10	6	2	2	17	8
2019	Semi-finals	14	11	2	1	28	11
2021	Quarterfinals	14	11	0	3	37	13
Total	1 title	209	126	44	39	375	170

*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

**Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won. Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.

2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Qualification

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	France	10	9	1	32	10	+22	27	Final tournament	—	3–1	3–2	1–0	5–0	5–0
2	Switzerland	10	9	1	26	8	+18	27	Final tournament	3–1	—	2–1	4–1	2–1	3–0
3	Georgia	10	5	5	17	14	+3	15		0–2	0–3	—	2–1	1–0	4–0
4	Slovakia	10	4	6	22	21	+1	12		3–5	1–2	3–2	—	2–1	6–0
5	Azerbaijan	10	2	8	6	18	−12	6		1–2	0–1	0–3	2–1	—	1–0
6	Liechtenstein	10	1	9	3	35	−32	3		0–5	0–5	0–2	2–4	1–0	—

Source: UEFA

References

^ "1988: France sweep to final glory". Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
^ "1988: Laurent Blanc". Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
^ "Fédération Française de Football" (in French).

External links

[1] "1988: France sweep to final glory". Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2010.

[2] "1988: Laurent Blanc". Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2010.

[3] "Fédération Française de Football" (in French).

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