Les Blues: The French Surprise  

In football, France has mostly seen success in the 90s and 2000. They were one of the only four European teams to play the first ever FIFA World Cup in 1930.

Les Blues (The Blues) have won the FIFA World Cup once, European Championship and FIFA Confederations Cup twice.

Zinedine Zidane:

One of the greatest footballers in the world, Zinedine Zidane helped win France their first World Cup in 1998 after he scored twice in the final. He was also a part of France’s Euro winning squad in 2000.

He is considered a national hero in his country due to his performance in the 1998 World Cup final.

Zidane has been named FIFA World Player of the Year thrice. He also won the Golden Ball in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Thierry Henry:

One of the top marketed footballers of the world, Thierry Henry was part of the French winning team of  1998 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2000 and 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Henry became the top scorer for the country in 2007. He has netted the ball 51 times in 123 appearances for the team.

Michel Platini:

Michel Platini is considered one of the best passers and free kick takers of the world.

Platini helds the record of the top goalscorer of France until Thierry Henry broke it in 2007. He has scored 41 times in 72 appearances for Les Blues.

The mid-fielder was named as a member of the FIFA World Cup Dream Team and was named No.6 in FIFA Player of the Century.

Didier Deschamps:

Serving France as its manager, Didier Deschamps was the captain when France won their only World Cup in 1998 and 2000 European Championships.

He served as a mid-fielder in the Blue side and made over 100 appearances for the team. He has scored four goals.