France national under-21 football team

France Under-21

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 0–0 Norway Alès, 11 November 1970 U21: France 1–1 Belgium Amiens, 3 September 1976
Biggest win
France 7–0 Yugoslavia Reims, 16 November 1985
Biggest defeat
England 6–1 France Sheffield, 28 February 1984 Records for competitive matches only.
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

Qualification

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	6	2	3	1	6	7	−1	9			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	5	1	1	3	4	7	−3	4			2 Sep	0–1	27 May	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 29 March 2016. Source: UEFA
(X) Cannot qualify directly as the top team, but may still qualify for the play-offs.

Iceland  v  France

5 September 2015	Iceland	3 – 2	France	Le Mans, France
16:00 CET	Sigurjónsson  10', 85' (pen.) Hermannsson  48'	Report	Nardi  7' Laporte  39' Kyei  90'	Stadium: Kópavogsvöllur Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (Spain)

Scotland  v  France

10 October 2015	Scotland	1 – 2	France	Aberdeen, Scotland
16:00 CET	King  90+1'	Report	Kingsley  11' (o.g.) Tolisso  53'	Stadium: Pittodrie Stadium Referee: Marco Guida (Italy)

France  v  Ukraine

13 October 2015	France	2 – 0	Ukraine	Strasbourg, France
18:45 CET	Lemar  70' Rabiot  77'	Report		Stadium: Stade de la Meinau Referee: Andreas Pappas (Greece)

France  v  Northern Ireland

12 November 2015	France	1 – 0	Northern Ireland	Guingamp, France
18:45 CET	Crivelli  82'	Report		Stadium: Stade du Roudourou Referee: Zaven Hovhannisyan (Armenia)

Macedonia  v  France

15 November 2015	Macedonia	2 – 2	France	Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
13:00 CET	Angelov  19' Radeski  40'	Report	Sparagna  44', 59' Haller  65' N'Koudou  72'	Stadium: FFM Training Centre Referee: Vitali Meshkov (Russia)

France  v  Scotland

24 March 2016	France	2 – 0	Scotland	Angers, France
21:00 CET	Haller  69', 74'	Report		Stadium: Stade Jean-Bouin Referee: Nikola Dabanović (Montenegro)

France  v  Macedonia

28 March 2016	France	1 – 1	Macedonia	Le Mans, France
21:00 CET	Bejtulai  27' (o.g.)	Report	Angelov  15'	Stadium: MMArena Referee: Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (Denmark)

Other fixtures

Friendly matches

France  v  Estonia

25 March 2015	France	6 – 0	Estonia	Valenciennes, France
21:00	Tolisso  34' Haller  35', 78', 83' Benzia  55' Sanson  79'			Stadium: Stade du Hainaut Attendance: 7,350 Referee: Kevin Clancy (Scotland)

France  v  Netherlands

30 March 2015	France	4 – 1	Netherlands	Sedan, France
21:00	Benzia  17' (pen.) Martial  56' (pen.), 64' Tolisso  73' (pen.)		Menig  69'	Stadium: Stade Louis Dugauguez Attendance: 9,100 Referee: Tobias Stieler (Germany)

France  v  South Korea

11 June 2015	France	1 – 1	South Korea	Gueugnon, France
21:00	Haller  28'		Moon  63'	Stadium: Stade Jean Laville Attendance: 7,085

France  v  Paraguay

16 June 2015	France	2 – 1	Paraguay	Besançon, France
21:00	Benzia  73' Rabiot  74'		Jacquet  32'	Stadium: Stade Léo Lagrange

France  v  Brazil

8 September 2015	France	2 – 1	Brazil	Le Mans, France
21:00	Amavi  17' Haller  72'		Kimpembe  14' (o.g.)	Stadium: MMArena

Players

Current squad

The following players have been called up to participate in two 2017 UEFA U-21 Euro qualification matches against Scotland and Macedonia to be played respectively on 24 and 28 March 2016.^[3]

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

Caps and goals as of 28 March 2016, after the team's match against Macedonia.

0#0	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	GK	Paul Nardi	18 May 1994	3	0	Monaco
23	GK	Thomas Didillon	28 November 1995	2	0	Metz
2	DF	Antoine Conte	29 January 1994	6	0	Reims
3	DF	Jean-Philippe Gbamin	25 September 1995	6	0	Lens
5	DF	Clément Lenglet	17 June 1995	6	0	Nancy
20	DF	Presnel Kimpembe	13 August 1995	6	0	Paris Saint-Germain
17	DF	Benjamin Pavard	28 March 1996	6	0	Lille
4	DF	Abdou Diallo	4 May 1996	0	0	Zulte-Waregem
6	MF	Adrien Rabiot	3 April 1995	15	1	Paris Saint-Germain
8	MF	Corentin Tolisso	3 August 1994	15	3	Lyon
22	MF	Rémi Walter	26 April 1995	11	0	Nancy
7	MF	Tiemoué Bakayoko	17 August 1994	8	0	Monaco
12	MF	Thomas Lemar	12 November 1995	6	1	Monaco
11	FW	Sébastien Haller	22 June 1994	14	9	Utrecht
18	FW	Corentin Jean	15 July 1995	8	0	Troyes
14	MF	Georges-Kévin N'Koudou	13 February 1995	6	1	Marseille
9	FW	Maxwel Cornet	27 September 1996	2	0	Lyon
15	FW	Ousmane Dembélé	15 May 1997	2	0	Rennes

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	Mouez Hassen	5 March 1995	5	0	Nice	v.  Scotland, 24 March 2016
GK	Mike Maignan	3 July 1995	3	0	Lille	v.  Macedonia, 15 November 2015
GK	Bingourou Kamara	21 October 1996	0	0	Tours	v.  Ukraine, 13 October 2015
DF	Lucas Hernández	14 February 1996	0	0	Atlético Madrid	v.  Scotland, 24 March 2016
DF	Aymeric Laporte	27 May 1994	19	1	Athletic Bilbao	v.  Scotland, 24 March 2016
DF	Steven Moreira	13 August 1994	4	0	Rennes	v.  Macedonia, 15 November 2015
DF	Stéphane Sparagna	17 February 1995	1	0	Marseille	v.  Macedonia, 15 November 2015
DF	Benjamin Mendy	17 July 1994	8	0	Marseille	v.  Macedonia, 15 November 2015 ^INJ
DF	Jordan Amavi	9 March 1994	7	1	Aston Villa	v.  Macedonia, 15 November 2015 ^INJ
DF	Kurt Zouma	27 October 1994	7	1	Chelsea	v.  Northern Ireland, 12 November 2015 ^INJ
DF	Frédéric Guilbert	24 December 1994	1	0	Bordeaux	v.  Ukraine, 13 October 2015
DF	Léo Dubois	7 December 1994	0	0	Nantes	v.  Brazil, 8 September 2015
DF	Baptiste Aloé	29 June 1994	1	0	Valenciennes	v.  Paraguay, 16 June 2015
MF	Vincent Koziello	28 October 1995	0	0	Nice	v.  Scotland, 24 March 2016 ^INJ
MF	Marcus Coco	24 June 1996	2	0	Guingamp	v.  Macedonia, 15 November 2015
MF	Wylan Cyprien	28 January 1995	0	0	Lens	v.  Brazil, 8 September 2015
MF	Morgan Sanson	18 August 1994	10	2	Montpellier	v.  Netherlands, 30 March 2015
FW	Enzo Crivelli	6 February 1995	4	1	Bordeaux	v.  Macedonia, 15 November 2015
FW	Grejohn Kyei	12 August 1995	1	1	Reims	v.  Ukraine, 13 October 2015
FW	Kingsley Coman	13 June 1996	9	2	Bayern Munich	v.  Scotland, 10 October 2015
FW	Yassine Benzia	8 September 1994	9	6	Lille	v.  Scotland, 10 October 2015
FW	Lenny Nangis	24 March 1994	4	0	Lille	v.  Brazil, 8 September 2015
FW	Anthony Martial	5 December 1995	12	4	Manchester United	v.  Paraguay, 16 June 2015

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

U-21 European Championship squads 2006 UEFA Under-21 Football Championship squads – France 2002 UEFA Under-21 Football Championship squads – France 1996 UEFA Under-21 Football Championship squads – France

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
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	Did not qualify	10	5	3	2	17	7
2011	Did not qualify	8	4	3	1	12	6
2013	Did not qualify	10	8	0	2	23	7
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

• UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Champions (1): 1988

Finalists (1): 2002

• Toulon Tournament

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

1. "1988: France sweep to final glory". Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Retrieved 12 July 2010.
2. "1988: Laurent Blanc". Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Retrieved 12 July 2010.
3. "Dernière sélection". French Football Federation (in French). 21 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.

External links

• Official site
• UEFA.com U-21 site
• U-21 Championships archives