France vs England: Head-to-head analysis
This is a footballing rivalry that spans decades, first meeting in an international friendly back in 1923 that England comfortably won. In fact, they would go on to reign supreme in each of those first six encounters between the two nations before France’s maiden win in 1931.
Little changed by way of their fortunes however, as The Three Lions returned to winning ways two years later, the first of four successive victories. At this point, things began to tilt in a more balanced favour, Les Bleus edging a few encounters while England continued to keep a stronghold on the fixture.
The first clash of titans on the FIFA World Cup stage came in 1966, which the English edged on their way to being crowned champions. They repeated their success over France at the 1982 edition, though on that occasion they failed to make it past the second group stage.
Around the turn of the century is when things leaned in favour of France, a nation that really began to make their mark on the international stage. So much so, when they registered what was a rare win at the time in 1999, it marked the start of a one-sided rivalry of sorts. They didn’t lose to England from then until 2015, when their opponents beat them 2-0.
That brings us to the most recent two meetings, both of which France have won. The first a 3-2 thriller in a friendly, the second was only their third meeting at the FIFA World Cup. Again, Les Bleus came out on top as they beat England in the semi-final to mark their first win over the English on this stage.