Wikipedia

France–Germany football rivalry

The France–Germany football rivalry (French: Rivalité entre l'Allemagne et la France en football; German: Deutsch-französische Fußballrivalität) is one of the biggest and most heated association football rivalries in Europe, between two European sides, France and Germany, two of the most successful national teams in the world. Previously, it was mostly a one-sided phenomenon since most German fans considered the Netherlands or Italy to be their traditional footballing rivals until the rise of France from the 1990s onward, but the rivalry really began during the UEFA European Championships in the 2010s decade after a series of mere friendlies in the 1990s to 2000s.[citation needed]

France–Germany football rivalry
LocationEurope (UEFA)
Teams France
 Germany
First meeting15 March 1931
Friendly
France 1–0 Germany
Latest meeting23 March 2024
Friendly
France 0–2 Germany
Statistics
Meetings total34
Most winsFrance (15)
Top scorerAntoine Griezmann (5 goals)
All-time seriesFrance: 15
Draw: 8
Germany: 11
Largest victoryWest Germany 5–1 France
Friendly
27 September 1967
France–Germany football rivalry is located in Europe
France
France
Germany
Germany

Background

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Main articles: French–German enmity and Christmas truce

The root of France–Germany rivalry could have dated back from the old tensions between France and German Empire after the capture of Paris by Prussian Army in 1870.[1] Since the end of the war, enmity between France and Germany increased, resulted with military arm race and eventually, set up the World War I. During the beginning of war, a peaceful moment, the Christmas truce, where a peaceful football match between French, British and German soldiers occurred.[2] This was considered the first unofficial match between France and Germany.

The countries first played each other in an official international in 1931 when France defeated the Weimar Republic. However, rivalry soon increased with the German invasion of France, and antagonism persisted until the end of World War II.[3][4] One of the most notable meetings between the two countries came in the 1982 World Cup semi-final, which ended 3–3 after extra time before West Germany won in a penalty shoot-out.[5] Michel Platini himself declared the match as his "most beautiful game".[6]

Matches

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Number Date Location Competition Game Results
1 15 March 1931   Paris Friendly France – Weimar Republic 1–0
2 19 March 1933   Berlin Friendly Weimar Republic – France 3–3
3 17 March 1935   Paris Friendly France – Germany 1–3
4 21 March 1937   Stuttgart Friendly Germany – France 4–0
5 5 October 1952   Paris Friendly France – West Germany 3–1
6 16 October 1954   Hannover Friendly West Germany – France 1–3
7 28 June 1958   Göteborg 1958 FIFA World Cup France – West Germany 6–3
8 26 October 1958   Paris Friendly France – West Germany 2–2
9 24 October 1962   Stuttgart Friendly West Germany – France 2–2
10 27 September 1967   Berlin Friendly West Germany – France 5–1
11 25 September 1968   Marseille Friendly France – West Germany 1–1
12 13 October 1973   Gelsenkirchen Friendly West Germany – France 2–1
13 23 February 1977   Paris Friendly France – West Germany 1–0
14 19 November 1980   Hannover Friendly West Germany – France 4–1
15 8 July 1982   Seville 1982 FIFA World Cup West Germany – France 3–3
(5–4 p)
16 18 April 1984   Strasbourg Friendly France – West Germany 1–0
17 25 June 1986   Guadalajara 1986 FIFA World Cup France – West Germany 0–2
18 12 August 1987   Berlin Berlin Anniversary West Germany – France 2–1
19 28 February 1990   Montpellier Friendly France – West Germany 2–1
20 1 June 1996   Stuttgart Friendly Germany – France 0–1
21 27 February 2001   Paris Friendly France – Germany 1–0
22 15 November 2003   Gelsenkirchen Friendly Germany – France 0–3
23 12 November 2005   Paris Friendly France – Germany 0–0
24 29 February 2012   Bremen Friendly Germany – France 1–2
25 6 February 2013   Paris Friendly France – Germany 1–2
26 4 July 2014   Rio de Janeiro 2014 FIFA World Cup France – Germany 0–1
27 13 November 2015   Paris Friendly France – Germany 2–0
28 7 July 2016   Marseille UEFA Euro 2016 Germany – France 0–2
29 14 November 2017   Cologne Friendly Germany – France 2–2
30 6 September 2018   Munich 2018–19 UEFA Nations League Germany – France 0–0
31 16 October 2018   Paris 2018–19 UEFA Nations League France – Germany 2–1
32 15 June 2021   Munich UEFA Euro 2020 France – Germany 1–0
33 12 September 2023   Dortmund Friendly Germany – France 2–1
34 23 March 2024   Lyon Friendly France – Germany 0–2

Statistics

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All-time top goalscorers

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As of 12 September 2023
Nation Player Goals Years
  Antoine Griezmann 5 2014–present
  Just Fontaine 4 1958
  Rudi Völler 3 1982–1994
  Gerd Müller 3 1966–1974

Overall record

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As of 23 March 2024
Competition Matches[7] Result Goals
France Draws Germany France Germany
FIFA World Cup 4 1 1* 2 9 9
UEFA European Championship 2 2 0 0 3 0
UEFA Nations League 2 1 1 0 2 1
All competitions 8 4 2 2 14 10
Friendly 26 11 6 9 37 40
All matches 34 15 8 11 51 50

Note 1: * Germany overcame France in 1982 FIFA World Cup semi-final match via penalty shoot-out.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The War That Set The Stage For World War One". Forces Network. 2 September 2016.
  2. ^ The Daily Telegraph
  3. ^ "World Cup: France-Germany rivalry isn't just about the wars". Christian Science Monitor. 4 July 2014.
  4. ^ "France vs Germany: a football rivalry 30 years in the making". France 24. 4 July 2014.
  5. ^ "Germany vs France: The European Rivalry That Keeps on Giving - Sabotage Times". Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  6. ^ Pears, Tim (25 October 2008). "'My most beautiful game': France v West Germany, 1982 World Cup semi-final". the Guardian.
  7. ^ "France national football team: record v Germany". 11v11. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
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