France have really struggled in recent years and it seems they are still searching for someone like Zidane who can win them most games almost single handedly. Unfortunately they just don't have a player of his quality and with players like Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira also gone we have to accept France aren't as good as they once were.
France will have home advantage at Euro 2016 and the hosts have a great record when they are one of the favourites at a Championships so it may be wise not to underestimate France's chances here.
Here are our winning tips on France at Euro 2012 followed by the other best bets to have had on France at the European Championships:
These were France's qualifying results for Euro 2012, their qualifying results for Euro 2016 will be added once the campaign starts.
| Date | Home Team | Result | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03/09/2010 | France | 0-1 (0-0) | Belarus |
| 07/09/2010 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0-2 (0-0) | France |
| 09/10/2010 | France | 2-0 (0-0) | Romania |
| 12/10/2010 | France | 2-0 (1-0) | Luxembourg |
| 25/03/2011 | Luxembourg | 0-2 (0-1) | France |
| 03/06/2011 | Belarus | 1-1 (1-1) | France |
| 02/09/2011 | Albania | 1-2 (0-2) | France |
| 06/09/2011 | Romania | 0-0 (0-0) | France |
| 07/10/2011 | France | 3-0 (2-0) | Albania |
| 11/10/2011 | France | 1-1 (0-1) | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
This was the final 23 man France Euro 2012 squad, how many of these players will be around in 2016?
Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Olympique Lyon), Steve Mandanda (Olympique Marseille), Cedric Carrasso (Girondins Bordeaux).
Defenders: Gael Clichy (Manchester City), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Philippe Mexes (AC Milan), Adil Rami (Valencia), Mathieu Debuchy (Lille), Anthony Reveillere (Olympique Lyon.
Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle United), Florent Malouda (Chelsea), Samir Nasri (Manchester City), Alou Diarra (Olympique Marseille), Yann M'vila (Stade Rennes), Marvin Martin (Sochaux), Blaise Matuidi (Paris St Germain).
Forwards: Hatem Ben Arfa (Newcastle United), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Olivier Giroud (Montpellier), Jeremy Menez (Paris St Germain), Mathieu Valbuena (Olympique Marseille).
We will add France's goalscorer stats from their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign after each qualifying match.
We will add France's disciplinary stats from their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign after each qualifying match.
We will add France's team stats from their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign after each qualifying match.
| Year | Team Performance |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Eliminated In Quarter Finals |
| 2008 | Eliminated Bottom Of Group |
| 2004 | Eliminated In Quarter Finals |
| 2000 | Winners |
| 1996 | Eliminated In Semi Final |
In the last five attempts France have had four different results at the European Championships, they have gone out at the group stage (bottom of their group four years ago), they have gone out in the quarter finals twice, they have gone out in the semi finals and they have gone all the way and won it. When they did win it in 2000 it was very much with their golden generation of players and they don't look half as strong now as they did then.