France at the 2022 World Cup: Results, squad, scorers

France's World Cup 2022 results

Holders as the tournament kicked off, France missed out on becoming the first team to defend a FIFA World Cup title since Brazil in 1962 after losing to Argentina in the final. Kylian Mbappé became just the second player to notch a hat-trick in the showpiece as he helped Les Bleus rally from 2-0 and 3-2 down, but their South American opponents proved more clinical in the shoot-out to spell heartbreak for Didier Deschamps and his players.

It was a cruel end to the competition for the two-time winners, though Mbappé finished tournament top scorer with eight goals and they celebrated two notable landmarks along the way – Hugo Lloris becoming his nation's most-capped player (145) and Olivier Giroud becoming their all-time top international scorer (53).

Group stage
22 November: France 4-1 Australia (Rabiot 27, Giroud 32 71, Mbappé 68; Goodwin 9)
26 November: France 2-1 Denmark (Mbappé 61 86; Christensen 68)
30 November: Tunisia 1-0 France (Khazri 58)

Round of 16
4 December: France 3-1 Poland (Giroud 44, Mbappé 74 90+1; Lewandowski 90+9pen)

Quarter-finals
10 December: England 1-2 France (Kane 54pen; Tchouaméni 17, Giroud 78)

Semi-finals
14 December: France 2-0 Morocco (Hernández 5, Kolo Muani 79)

Final
18 December: Argentina 3-3aet France, Argentina won 4-2 on penalties (Messi 23pen 108, Di María 36; Mbappé 80pen 81 118pen)

France's top scorer

Kylian Mbappé (8 goals)

The mercurial Paris forward opened his account with France's fourth in the 4-1 opening win against Australia and then struck twice against both Denmark (in the group stage) and Poland (in the round of 16). He saved his best for last, hitting two late goals against Argentina in the final to force extra time and adding a 118th-minute penalty to take the game to spot kicks.

The 23-year-old also buried his effort in the shoot-out but ultimately had to make do with the prize for tournament top scorer – while also becoming the first player since Geoff Hurst in 1966 to hit a hat-trick in the final and setting a new individual record for final goals (four).

France's final 25-player squad*

Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola, Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda

Defenders: Axel Disasi, Lucas Hernández, Theo Hernández, Ibrahima Konaté, Jules Koundé, Benjamin Pavard, William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano, Raphaël Varane

Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga, Youssouf Fofana, Matteo Guendouzi, Adrien Rabiot, Aurélien Tchouameni, Jordan Veretout

Forwards: Kingsley Coman, Ousmane Dembélé, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Randal Kolo Muani, Kylian Mbappé, Marcus Thuram

*Karim Benzema was initially included in the final squad but had to withdraw through injury and was not replaced

How France qualified

Group D: W5 D3 L0 F18 A3

France 1-1 Ukraine
Kazakhstan 0-2 France
Bosnia and Herzegovina 0-1 France
France 1-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ukraine 1-1 France
France 2-0 Finland
France 8-0 Kazakhstan
Finland 0-2 France

Top scorer: Antoine Griezmann (6 goals)

France coach: Didier Deschamps

A defensive midfielder who won the UEFA Champions League with Marseille and Juventus, Deschamps captained Les Bleus to victory at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and then UEFA EURO 2000. France boss since 2012, he made up for final disappointment at UEFA EURO 2016 by leading his side to World Cup glory two years later and added another tournament triumph when his side bounced back after a disappointing UEFA EURO 2020 showing to win the 2021 UEFA Nations League.

France captain: Hugo Lloris

The 35-year-old Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper is playing in his fourth World Cup finals, equalling Thierry Henry's national record. Lloris collected his 143rd cap in the quarter-final against England, pushing him past Lilian Thuram as the most capped player in France's history.

France's World Cup history 

Most appearances: Hugo Lloris (20)
Top scorer: Just Fontaine (13)
Best performance: Winners (1998, 2018)
2018 World Cup: Winners (W4-2 vs Croatia)

After two wins and a draw in the 2018 group stage, two goals from Kylian Mbappé helped Les Bleus to edge a seven-goal thriller with Argentina in the round of 16. They then defeated Uruguay and Belgium to make it to the decider, where strikes from Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and Mbappé – and a Mario Mandžukić own goal – overwhelmed Croatia.

France's EURO 2024 qualifying fixtures (Group B)

24/03/2023: France vs Netherlands
27/03/2023: Republic of Ireland vs France
16/06/2023: Gibraltar vs France
19/06/2023: France vs Greece
07/09/2023: France vs Republic of Ireland
13/10/2023: Netherlands vs France
18/11/2023: France vs Gibraltar
21/11/2023: Greece vs France