The French team does not score any goals or very few, plays a boring game most of the time, but, independently of its world title (2018), its 2022 final and the Euro 2016 final, it is , of all the major European nations, the most consistent at the highest level for twelve years, in the seven major competitions, Euro and World Cup.
Since Euro 2012, in fact, the French selection has always been present in the final phase of the Euro and the World Cup, i.e. seven out of seven possible, counting the recent qualification for the eighth of the current Euro, Monday evening.
7 – France is officially in the round of 16 of this EURO 2024 and is the only European team to have passed the group stage in each of the last 7 major tournaments (EURO + World Cup). The fields.#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/N5XgiL0FQK
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) June 24, 2024
No other European selection has been a success like the French team over the period considered. Spain, Portugal and England, the most diligent teams, all have six appearances out of a possible seven – these selections were all eliminated in the first round of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Long considered untouchable, Germany, quadruple world champion, only has 5 appearances out of 7 having been eliminated in the group stage of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Six times Deschamps
Finally, Italy, the outgoing European champion who qualified at the last minute for the eighth on Monday evening, appears to be the least reliable of the major European nations over the last 10-12 years. Indeed, the Nazionale did not make it past the first round of the 2014 World Cup and failed to qualify in 2018 and 2022.
In this hyper regularity of the Blues at the highest level, a significant part of the credit obviously goes to Didier Deschamps, in post since July 2012. The coach played his first major competition at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil (a quarter-final) , and personally has a total of six appearances in the major tournaments.
