World Cup 2026: France struggling in third group match for 20 years

26.06.26 FT World Cup

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Before the crucial clash against Norway for the top spot in Group I, France once again faces its old demons in the third match of a major tournament—a trend that dates back to the World Cup.

You have to go back to the 2006 World Cup to find the last time Les Bleus claimed victory in their third group-stage game at a major tournament, whether it’s the World Cup or the European Championship. That win came against Togo in Germany, with a solid 2-0 scoreline.

World Cup 2026: The official and complete group stage schedule

Since then, France’s record is a disappointing four defeats and five draws. The French fell to Italy at Euro 2008, South Africa at the 2010 World Cup, Sweden at Euro 2012, and Tunisia at the 2022 World Cup.

They were held to goalless draws by Ecuador at the 2014 World Cup, Switzerland at Euro 2016, and Denmark at the 2018 World Cup, while sharing the points in high-scoring draws with Portugal at Euro 2021 (2-2) and Poland at Euro 2024 (1-1).

Didier Deschamps’ men are tied at the top of the group with Norway (6 points each), setting up a winner-takes-all scenario in this final group stage duel.

Here are France’s last ten third group-stage matches:

WC 2006 – France 2-0 Togo

EURO 2008 – France 0-2 Italy

WC 2010 – France 1-2 South Africa

EURO 2012 – France 0-2 Sweden

WC 2014 – France 0-0 Ecuador

EURO 2016 – France 0-0 Switzerland

WC 2018 – France 0-0 Denmark

EURO 2021 – France 2-2 Portugal

WC 2022 – France 0-1 Tunisia

EURO 2024 – France 1-1 Poland

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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