The football rivalry between France and Germany is one of the biggest and most heated association football rivalries in Europe. The teams are among 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 Championship in the 2010s decade after a series of mere friendlies in the 1990s to 2000s.
Background
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. 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. 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. 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. Michel Platini himself declared the match as his "most beautiful game". Comparison in major tournaments Key Denotes which team finished better in that particular competition. DNQ: Did not qualify. DNP: Did not participate. TBD: To be determined.
TournamentNotes1930 FIFA World Cup7thDNP1934 FIFA World Cup9th3rd1938 FIFA World Cup6th10thTournament hosted by France.1950 FIFA World CupWithdrewDNP1954 FIFA World Cup11th1st1958 FIFA World Cup3rd4thIn the third-place match, France defeated West Germany 6–3.Euro 1960 4thDNPTournament hosted by France.1962 FIFA World CupDNQ7thEuro 1964DNQ1966 FIFA World Cup13th2ndEuro 1968DNQ1970 FIFA World CupDNQ3rdEuro 19721st1974 FIFA World CupTournament hosted by West Germany.Euro 19762nd1978 FIFA World Cup12th6thEuro 1980DNQ1st1982 FIFA World Cup4th2ndIn the semifinals, West Germany defeated France 5–4 on penalties, after the match ended 3-3 after extra time.Euro 19841st5thTournament hosted by France.1986 FIFA World Cup3rd2ndIn the semifinals, West Germany defeated France 2-0.Euro 1988DNQ3rdTournament hosted by West Germany.1990 FIFA World Cup1stEuro 19926th2nd1994 FIFA World CupDNQ5thEuro 19964th1st1998 FIFA World Cup1st7thTournament hosted by France.Euro 200015th2002 FIFA World Cup28th2ndEuro 20046th12th2006 FIFA World Cup2nd3rdEuro 200815th2nd2010 FIFA World Cup29th3rdEuro 20128th4th2014 FIFA World Cup7th1stIn the quarter-finals, Germany defeated France 1-0.Euro 20162nd3rdTournament hosted by France. In the semifinals, France defeated Germany 2–0.2018 FIFA World Cup1st22ndEuro 202011th15thTournament hosted by multiple countries; Germany hosted some matches. In the group stage, France defeated Germany 1-0.2022 FIFA World Cup2nd17thEuro 20244th 5thTournament hosted by Germany.2026 FIFA World Cup18thEuro 2028TBDTBD
Major encounters 1958 FIFA World Cup
1982 FIFA World Cup
1986 FIFA World Cup
2014 FIFA World Cup
UEFA Euro 2016
2018–19 UEFA Nations League
UEFA Euro 2020
2025 UEFA Nations League Finals
Matches 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 Gothenburg 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 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 35 8 June 2025 Stuttgart 2025 UEFA Nations League Finals Germany – France 0–2
Statistics All-time top goalscorers
NationPlayerGoalsYearsAntoine Griezmann52014–2024Just Fontaine41958Rudi Völler31982–1994Gerd Müller31966–1974
Overall record
Competition Matches 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 3 2 1 0 4 1 All competitions 9 5 2 2 16 10 Friendly 26 11 6 9 37 40 All matches 35 16 8 11 53 50
Note 1: * Germany overcame France in 1982 FIFA World Cup semi-final match via penalty shoot-out.
Trophies CompetitionTitles Germany France FIFA World Cup 4 2FIFA Confederations Cup12 UEFA Euros 3 2 UEFA Nations League 0 1Summer Olympics11 All competitions 9 8
See also France–Germany relations
References
Reports
External links Germany vs. France: Five of the best clashes between the two countries