France national under-21 football team

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France Under-21
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Les Bleuets (The Little Blues)
Les Espoirs (The Hopes)
Association French Football Federation
Head coach Pierre Mankowski
Captain Aymeric Laporte
Most caps Mickaël Landreau (43)
Top scorer Anthony Le Tallec (12)
First colours
Second colours
First international
U23: France France 0–0 Norway Norway
Alès, 11 November 1970
U21: France France 1–1 Belgium Belgium
Amiens, 3 September 1976
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances 8 (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. The team was previously coached by former Toulouse manager Erick Mombaerts, however, following the team's failure to qualify for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in October 2012, he agreed to leave the position.

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. Since the coaching tenure of Aimé Jacquet, there has been an unwritten rule among senior national team coaches that players called up to the national team must have had prior international experience with the under-21 team. Due to the country's multicultural background, France regularly produces under-21 players who have gone on to play for other country's senior national teams. Players such as Mourad Meghni, Issiar Dia, Sébastien Bassong, and Hassan Yebda all represented France at under-21 level before opting to represent their country of origin at senior level.

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. Though the 2002 team produced ten players who went on to play for the senior team, only one of them, Sidney Govou, has become a regular international.

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.

Results and fixtures 2015–2017

2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

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Main article: 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Qualification

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Main article: 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 3
Pos Team
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  France 7 4 2 1 12 7 +5 14 Final tournament — 6 Sep 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–0
2  Iceland 6 3 3 0 8 3 +5 12 Possible Play-offs 3–2 — 3–0 5 Oct 11 Oct 1–1
3  Macedonia 7 3 3 1 8 7 +1 12 2–2 0–0 — 8 Oct 1–0 6 Sep
4  Scotland 6 2 2 2 8 8 0 8 1–2 0–0 2 Sep — 2–2 3–1
5  Ukraine 6 1 1 4 4 9 −5 4 2 Sep 0–1 0–2 6 Sep — 6 Oct
6  Northern Ireland (X) 6 0 1 5 5 11 −6 1 11 Oct 2 Sep 1–2 1–2 1–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 27 May 2016. Source: UEFA
(X) Cannot qualify directly as the top team, but may still qualify for the play-offs.

Other fixtures

Friendly matches

Players

Current squad

The following players have been called up to participate in two 2017 UEFA U-21 Euro qualification matches against Northern Ireland and Macedonia to be played respectively on 12 and 15 November 2015.[3]

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

Caps and goals as of 15 November 2015, after the team's match against Macedonia.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Mouez Hassen (1995-03-05) 5 March 1995 (age 29) 5 0 France Nice
16 1GK Mike Maignan (1995-07-03) 3 July 1995 (age 28) 3 0 France Lille
1GK Paul Nardi (1994-05-18) 18 May 1994 (age 30) 3 0 France Monaco
5 2DF Clément Lenglet (1995-06-17) 17 June 1995 (age 29) 5 0 France Nancy
3 2DF Jean-Philippe Gbamin (1995-09-25) 25 September 1995 (age 28) 4 0 France Lens
20 2DF Presnel Kimpembe (1995-08-13) 13 August 1995 (age 28) 4 0 France Paris Saint-Germain
2 2DF Steven Moreira (1994-08-13) 13 August 1994 (age 29) 4 0 France Rennes
4 2DF Benjamin Pavard (1996-03-28) 28 March 1996 (age 28) 4 0 France Lille
17 2DF Stéphane Sparagna (1995-02-17) 17 February 1995 (age 29) 1 0 France Marseille
6 3MF Adrien Rabiot (1995-04-03) 3 April 1995 (age 29) 13 1 France Paris Saint-Germain
8 3MF Corentin Tolisso (1994-08-03) 3 August 1994 (age 29) 13 3 France Lyon
22 3MF Rémi Walter (1995-04-26) 26 April 1995 (age 29) 9 0 France Nancy
14 3MF Georges-Kévin N'Koudou (1995-02-13) 13 February 1995 (age 29) 5 1 France Marseille
7 3MF Marcus Coco (1996-06-24) 24 June 1996 (age 28) 2 0 France Guingamp
10 3MF Vincent Koziello (1995-10-28) 28 October 1995 (age 28) 0 0 France Nice
11 4FW Sébastien Haller (1994-06-22) 22 June 1994 (age 30) 12 7 Netherlands Utrecht
18 4FW Corentin Jean (1995-07-15) 15 July 1995 (age 28) 7 0 France Troyes
9 4FW Enzo Crivelli (1995-02-06) 6 February 1995 (age 29) 4 1 France Bordeaux
15 4FW Maxwell Cornet (1996-09-27) 27 September 1996 (age 27) 1 0 France Lyon

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 Bingourou Kamara (1996-10-21) 21 October 1996 (age 27) 0 0 France Tours v.  Ukraine, 13 October 2015
GK Thomas Didillon (1995-11-28) 28 November 1995 (age 28) 0 0 France Metz v.  Brazil, 8 September 2015
DF Benjamin Mendy (1994-07-17) 17 July 1994 (age 29) 8 0 France Marseille v.  Macedonia, 15 November 2015 INJ
DF Jordan Amavi (1994-03-09) 9 March 1994 (age 30) 7 1 England Aston Villa v.  Macedonia, 15 November 2015 INJ
DF Aymeric Laporte (1994-05-27) 27 May 1994 (age 30) 18 1 Spain Athletic Bilbao v.  Northern Ireland, 12 November 2015 INJ
DF Kurt Zouma (1994-10-27) 27 October 1994 (age 29) 7 1 England Chelsea v.  Northern Ireland, 12 November 2015 INJ
DF Frédéric Guilbert (1994-12-24) 24 December 1994 (age 29) 1 0 France Bordeaux v.  Ukraine, 13 October 2015
DF Antoine Conte (1994-01-29) 29 January 1994 (age 30) 4 0 France Reims v.  Brazil, 8 September 2015
DF Léo Dubois (1994-12-07) 7 December 1994 (age 29) 0 0 France Nantes v.  Brazil, 8 September 2015
DF Baptiste Aloé (1994-06-29) 29 June 1994 (age 29) 1 0 France Valenciennes v.  Paraguay, 16 June 2015
MF Thomas Lemar (1995-11-12) 12 November 1995 (age 28) 4 1 France Monaco v.  Ukraine, 13 October 2015
MF Tiemoué Bakayoko (1994-08-17) 17 August 1994 (age 29) 7 0 France Monaco v.  Scotland, 10 October 2015
MF Wylan Cyprien (1995-01-28) 28 January 1995 (age 29) 0 0 France Lens v.  Brazil, 8 September 2015
MF Morgan Sanson (1994-08-18) 18 August 1994 (age 29) 10 2 France Montpellier v.  Netherlands, 30 March 2015
FW Grejohn Kyei (1995-08-12) 12 August 1995 (age 28) 1 1 France Reims v.  Ukraine, 13 October 2015
FW Kingsley Coman (1996-06-13) 13 June 1996 (age 28) 9 2 Germany Bayern Munich v.  Scotland, 10 October 2015
FW Yassine Benzia (1994-09-08) 8 September 1994 (age 29) 9 6 France Lille v.  Scotland, 10 October 2015
FW Lenny Nangis (1994-03-24) 24 March 1994 (age 30) 4 0 France Lille v.  Brazil, 8 September 2015
FW Anthony Martial (1995-12-05) 5 December 1995 (age 28) 12 4 England Manchester United v.  Paraguay, 16 June 2015

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Notes
  • 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.

Previous squads

Coaching staff

As of 9 September 2013
Position Name Nationality
Manager Pierre Mankowski  French
Assistant manager Patrice Gonfalone  French
Assistant manager José Alcocer  French
Goalkeeping coach Sylvain Matrisciano  French
Doctor François Brochet  French
Physiotherapist Guy Puravet  French

Competitive record

For single-match results of the under-21 national team, see French football single-season articles.

UEFA U-23 Championship Record

  • 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 Record

Year Result GP 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
France 1994 Fourth Place 14 10 2 2 24 8
Spain 1996 Third Place 14 8 4 2 30 5
Romania 1998 Did not qualify 8 4 3 1 13 8
Slovakia 2000 Did not qualify 8 6 2 2 19 6
Switzerland 2002 Runners-Up 15 12 3 0 27 7
Germany 2004 Did not qualify 10 8 1 1 20 7
Portugal 2006 Semi-finals 14 10 2 2 24 10
Netherlands 2007 Did not qualify 4 2 1 1 6 3
Sweden 2009 Did not qualify 10 5 3 2 17 7
Denmark 2011 Did not qualify 8 4 3 1 12 6
Israel 2013 Did not qualify 10 8 0 2 23 7
Czech Republic 2015 Did not qualify 10 8 1 1 31 11
Total 1 title 181 107 41 33 317 144
*Draws include knockout matches decided by penalty shootout.
**Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won. Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Honours

Champions (1): 1988
Finalists (1): 2002
Champions (11): 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 1997, 1989, 1988, 1987, 1985, 1984, 1977
Finalists (11): 2009, 1998, 1996, 1995, 1993, 1991, 1986, 1980, 1978, 1976, 1975

Broadcaster

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

References

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External links

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