France in penalty shootouts at FIFA World Cup: Records, stats, saves and goals
France, which is the defending champion of the world, has a 50% success rate in World Cup penalty shootouts, winning and losing two each.
Published : Dec 09, 2022 10:20 IST
Antoine Griezmann of France scores a penalty past Danijel Subasic of Croatia for his team’s second goal during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final between France and Croatia at Luzhniki Stadium on July 15, 2018, in Moscow, Russia. | Photo Credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Nothing can be more nerve-wracking than a penalty shootout, which decides the outcome of a football match, especially in the knockouts of a World Cup.
France, the defending champion of the world, has a 50% success rate in World Cup penalty shootouts.
Here are all the penalty shootouts France has been part of in the World Cup
West Germany vs France, 1982
The 1982 World Cup semifinal match between West Germany and France finished 3-3 after extra time. It was the first time France was facing a penalty shootout in its World Cup history.
Both teams were level after five penalties each, having scored four and missed one, which meant the shootout went to sudden death.
Maxime Bossis failed to score his penalty, and Germany’s Horst Hrubesch converted his spot-kick to script a 5-4 win for the West Germans.
France vs Brazil, 1986
France vs Brazil quarterfinal match ended 1-1 after 120 minutes of football. The French team had another shootout to deal with, having lost its first one in the previous edition in Spain.
Socrates missed his first penalty for Brazil, putting the Selecao under pressure from the start, but Michel Platini’s miss meant Brazil was back in the game. However, Julio Cesar missed his kick, and Luis Fernandez scored to win the match for France. It was the French team’s first penalty-shootout victory (4-3) in the World Cup.
France vs Italy, 1998
It was France’s turn to host the World Cup. The France vs Italy quarterfinal match finished goalless after extra-time.
(Left to right) Alan Boghossian, Bernard Diomede, Bixente Lizarazu, Christophe Dugarry, Fabien Barthez, Zinedine Zidane and David Trezeguet all of France celebrate after the World Cup quarter-final match against Italy at the Stade de Francein St Denis. | Photo Credit: Stu Forster/Allsport/Getty Images
Zinedine Zidane and Roberto Baggio scored their first penalty for France and Italy, respectively. However, France’s Bixente Lizarazu and Italy’s Demetrio Albertini missed their subsequent penalties. David Trezeguet, Thierry Henry and Laurent Blanc scored the next three penalties for France, but Luigi Di Biagio failed to convert his final penalty, leading to a France win (4-3).
Italy vs France, 2006
The 2006 World Cup final between Italy and France finished with a 1-1 scoreline after extra-time. France’s morale was already low as it had lost Zidane due to the Marco Materazzi headbutt, and now, it had to deal with the mental pressure of a penalty-shootout at football’s grandest stage.
Italian defender Fabio Grosso (L) shoots the winning penalty against French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez during the World Cup 2006 final football game Italy vs.France, 09 July 2006 at Berlin stadium. | Photo Credit: AFP/ODD ANDERSEN
All five penalty-takers for Italy found the net, but France could not maintain its 100% record after David Trezeguet missed his spot-kick. Fabio Grosso scored the deciding penalty, which clinched the World Cup title for Italy.
France penalty-shootout stats in World Cup
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