# List of France national football team captains

The France national football team (French: Equipe de France) represents the nation of France in international association football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation (FFF) (French: Fédération Française de Football) and competes as a member of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The team played its first official international match on 1 May 1904 against Belgium. Since its first competitive match, more than 800 players have made at least one international appearance for the team. Of them, 105 have served as captain of the national team. This list contains football (soccer) players who have served as captain of the France national team and is listed according to their number of matches captained.
The France national team's record appearance-maker as captain is Didier Deschamps, who led the team out 52 times during his 103-cap tenure, which lasted through three decades. Deschamps is also the most successful France captain, having worn the armband, an indicator of the team's captain, in team victories at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000. The Bayonne-born midfielder surpassed the previous record-holder of the France captaincy, midfielder Michel Platini, in the team's semi-final match at the latter competition. Platini became the first France captain to win a major international competition after leading the team in the 1984 European Football Championship. Aside from Deschamps and Platini, only three other players have captained France on over 40 occasions: defenders Roger Marche and Marcel Desailly, and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Marche is one of two French captains to lead the team at two FIFA World Cup competitions. Desailly captained the team to victories at the 2001 and 2003 editions of the FIFA Confederations Cup. He is one of four players to be sent off in a FIFA World Cup final, one of the other three being fellow France captain Zinedine Zidane. Lloris captained France to victory at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and to the final of UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

## History

The first captain of the France national team was Fernand Canelle, who captained the national team in its first international match against Belgium on 1 May 1904. Canelle went on to captain France only once more in a 7–0 defeat to Belgium in 1905. The team's next captain was Pierre Allemane, who had previously captained a team representing France at the 1900 Summer Olympics. However, this occurred when the team was under the supervision of the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA), a federation sports union that supported amateur sport. Under the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) governing body, Allemane is the only French player to wear the armband in all of his national team appearances. Aside from Canelle and Allemane, Gaston Barreau, René Bonnet, Étienne Jourde, and Robert Lemaître are the only other players to ever captain the national team on their debuts. Bonnet's captaincy is notable due in part to the fact that it was his only appearance with the national team. The first player to captain France in a major international competition while playing under FIFA was André François. He led the team at the football tournament in the 1908 Summer Olympics and captained France to the worst loss in national team and competition history, a 17–1 loss to Denmark. One of the first permanent captains of the national team was Jean Ducret. He captained the team 13 times between 1910 and 1914.
   "There’s nothing more beautiful than the national team and I appreciated every cap, be it the first, 50th or 100th. But yes, my proudest moment is that victory and that team, because we could overcome any obstacle, hated defeat and always stepped onto the pitch to win. It was a privilege to captain that team."
Alexandre Villaplane captained France in its first FIFA World Cup match in 1930 and went on to captain the team in the entire tournament. Maurice Cottenet was the first goalkeeper to captain the national team. Alex Thépot was the second and bore the armband at the 1934 FIFA World Cup. The team's first captain after World War II was Alfred Aston. Aston captained the team for the first time in its first match following the conclusion of the war, a 3–1 win over Belgium on Christmas Eve 1944, and subsequently led the team out six more times. Following Aston, the captaincy was rotated among striker Jean Baratte and defenders Roger Marche and Robert Jonquet. Marche and Jonquet alternated the armband at the 1954 and 1958 editions of the FIFA World Cup. Following the retirement of Baratte, Marche took primary control of the captaincy and guided the team until his international retirement in 1960. The former Stade de Reims defender held the record of captaining France the most until he was surpassed by Michel Platini in 1986. Platini is the first France captain to lead the team to victory in a major international competition. He accomplished this feat at UEFA Euro 1984. In 2000, Platini was surpassed by Didier Deschamps, who captained France to its first FIFA World Cup title in 1998. Deschamps surpassed Platini during UEFA Euro 2000 in the team's semi-final match against Portugal. France won the match, 2–1. In the final, France defeated Italy, giving Deschamps his second major honour as captain. Deschamps was succeeded by Marcel Desailly, who ranks second in captaining France the most. Desailly captained France to victory at both the 2001 and 2003 editions of the FIFA Confederations Cup.
From 2004 to 2010, when Raymond Domenech managed the national team, the captaincy regularly alternated between Patrick Vieira and Zinedine Zidane. The former player was given the captaincy first, but handed it over to Zidane when he returned to the team in 2005. Zidane subsequently wore the armband at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and became the first French captain and just the fourth player in association football history to be sent off in a World Cup final match. Former teammate and captain Marcel Desailly is one of the other three. Following Zidane's retirement, Vieira was designated captain of the team for its UEFA Euro 2008 campaign, however, injuries hampered his stint as captain and, as a result, defender Lilian Thuram led the team at the competition. The last permanent captain of the team was the national team's all-time leading goalscorer, Thierry Henry. He first captained the team on 6 February 2008 in a friendly against Spain when he was given the armband following the substitution of Vieira. He held onto the captaincy until a month before the 2010 FIFA World Cup following his relegation to a substitute's role. The armband was given to defender Patrice Evra who led the team at the competition. Under manager Laurent Blanc, several players made their debuts as captains of the national team. In August 2010, Philippe Mexès captained the team for the first time. The following month, Florent Malouda made his debut as captain. In November, Hugo Lloris became the ninth goalkeeper in national team history to wear the armband. Kylian Mbappé is now captain as of March 21, 2023.

## Captains

Appearances and matches captained are composed of FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Football Championship, FIFA Confederations Cup, and pre-World Cup Summer Olympics matches and each competition's required qualification matches, as well as numerous international friendly tournaments and matches. Players are initially listed by number of matches captained, followed by number of international caps attained. If the number of matches captained and the number of caps earned are equal, then the player who captained the national team first is listed first. Statistics correct as of 17 November 2024.
Key :
| § | Still active for the national team |
| † | Captained the team at a major international tournament |
| GK | Goalkeeper |
| DF | Defender |
| MF | Midfielder |
| FW | Forward |
List of France national team football players who have served as captain of the team :
| Rank | Player | Position | National team career | Caps as captain | Total caps | First captaincy |
| 1 | Hugo Lloris | GK | 2008–2022$^†$ | 121 | 145 | 17 November 2010 |
| 2 | Didier Deschamps | MF | 1989–2000$^†$ | 54 | 103 | 22 March 1994 |
| 3 | Michel Platini | MF | 1976–1987$^†$ | 50 | 72 | 5 September 1979 |
| 4 | Marcel Desailly | DF | 1993–2004$^†$ | 49 | 116 | 6 September 1995 |
| 5 | Roger Marche | DF | 1947–1959$^†$ | 42 | 63 | 4 June 1950 |
| 6 | Manuel Amoros | DF | 1982–1992$^†$ | 30 | 82 | 18 November 1987 |
| 7 | Zinedine Zidane | MF | 1994–2006$^†$ | 26 | 108 | 1 September 2001 |
| 8 | Marius Trésor | DF | 1971–1983$^†$ | 24 | 65 | 9 October 1976 |
| = | Jean Djorkaeff | DF | 1964–1972 | 24 | 48 | 30 April 1969 |
| 10 | Thierry Henry | FW | 1997–2010$^†$ | 21 | 123 | 6 February 2008 |
| = | Patrick Vieira | MF | 1997–2009$^†$ | 21 | 107 | 4 September 2004 |
| 11 | Raphaël Varane | DF | 2013–2022$^†$ | 20 | 90 | 14 October 2014 |
| 12 | Paul Nicolas | FW | 1920–1931$^†$ | 18 | 35 | 19 April 1925 |
| 13 | Kylian Mbappé | FW | 2017–$^†$ | 17 | 86 | 24 March 2023 |
| 14 | Lilian Thuram | DF | 1994–2008$^†$ | 16 | 142 | 9 November 2005 |
| 15 | Étienne Mattler | DF | 1930–1940$^†$ | 14 | 46 | 21 January 1934 |
| 16 | Alex Thépot | GK | 1927–1935$^†$ | 13 | 31 | 15 March 1931 |
| = | Jean Ducret | MF | 1910–1914 | 13 | 20 | 6 April 1910 |
| 18 | Georges Bereta | FW | 1967–1975 | 12 | 44 | 8 September 1973 |
| = | Edmond Delfour | DF | 1929–1938 | 12 | 41 | 10 June 1933 |
| = | Jean Baratte | FW | 1944–1952 | 12 | 32 | 13 November 1949 |
| 21 | Jean-Pierre Papin | FW | 1986–1995 | 11 | 54 | 26 August 1992 |
| = | Bernard Bosquier | FW | 1964–1972 | 10 | 42 | 27 September 1967 |
| = | Raymond Dubly | DF | 1913–1925$^†$ | 10 | 31 | 15 January 1922 |
| 24 | Laurent Blanc | DF | 1989–2000$^†$ | 9 | 97 | 26 June 1996 |
| = | Robert Jonquet | DF | 1948–1960$^†$ | 9 | 58 | 16 June 1954 |
| = | Henri Michel | MF | 1967–1980 | 9 | 58 | 3 September 1975 |
| = | Eric Cantona | FW | 1987–1995 | 9 | 45 | 17 November 1993 |
| = | Alou Diarra | MF | 2004–2012$^†$ | 9 | 44 | 22 June 2010 |
| = | Christian Lopez | DF | 1975–1982 | 9 | 39 | 2 February 1977 |
| = | Franck Sauzée | MF | 1988–1993 | 9 | 39 | 28 March 1990 |
| = | André Lerond | DF | 1957–1963 | 9 | 31 | 12 November 1961 |
| = | Marcel Artelesa | DF | 1963–1966$^†$ | 9 | 21 | 9 October 1965 |
| = | Lucien Gamblin | MF | 1911–1923 | 9 | 17 | 5 April 1920 |
| 34 | Armand Penverne | MF | 1952–1959$^†$ | 7 | 39 | 6 October 1957 |
| = | Alfred Aston | MF | 1934–1946 | 7 | 31 | 24 December 1944 |
| = | Marcel Langiller | FW | 1927–1937 | 7 | 30 | 10 April 1932 |
| = | Oscar Heisserer | MF | 1936–1948 | 7 | 25 | 26 May 1945 |
| = | Pierre Allemane | DF | 1905–1908 | 7 | 7 | 12 February 1905 |
| 39 | Maxime Bossis | DF | 1976–1986 | 6 | 76 | 23 March 1983 |
| = | Raymond Kopa | MF | 1952–1962 | 6 | 45 | 28 February 1960 |
| 41 | Luis Fernández | MF | 1982–1992 | 5 | 60 | 9 September 1987 |
| = | Patrick Battiston | DF | 1977–1989$^†$ | 5 | 56 | 31 May 1983 |
| = | Jean Vincent | FW | 1953–1961$^†$ | 5 | 46 | 16 March 1960 |
| = | Patrice Evra | DF | 2004–2016$^†$ | 5 | 46 | 26 May 2010 |
| = | Alexandre Villaplane | MF | 1926–1930$^†$ | 5 | 25 | 23 February 1930 |
| = | Julien Darui | GK | 1939–1951 | 5 | 25 | 26 May 1947 |
| = | Robert Herbin | DF | 1960–1968 | 5 | 23 | 18 April 1965 |
| = | Henri Bard | DF | 1913–1923$^†$ | 5 | 18 | 18 January 1920 |
| 49 | Antoine Griezmann | FW | 2014–2024$^†$ | 4 | 137 | 25 September 2022 |
| = | Franck Leboeuf | DF | 1995–2002$^†$ | 4 | 50 | 27 February 2001 |
| = | Jean-Jacques Marcel | MF | 1953–1961 | 4 | 44 | 11 December 1960 |
| = | Jules Dewaquez | FW | 1920–1929 | 4 | 41 | 24 April 1927 |
| = | Pierre Bernard | GK | 1960–1965 | 4 | 21 | 25 December 1963 |
| = | Claude Quittet | DF | 1967–1973 | 4 | 16 | 13 October 1972 |
| = | Louis Mesnier | MF | 1904–1913 | 4 | 14 | 23 March 1911 |
| = | Henri Pavillard | MF | 1928–1932 | 4 | 14 | 18 May 1930 |
| = | Albert Batteux | MF | 1948–1949 | 4 | 8 | 27 April 1949 |
| 58 | Fabien Barthez | GK | 1994–2006 | 3 | 87 | 18 August 2004 |
| = | Eric Abidal | DF | 2002–2013 | 3 | 61 | 16 November 2007 |
| = | Bernard Lama | GK | 1993–2000 | 3 | 44 | 16 August 1995 |
| = | François Hugues | DF | 1919–1927 | 3 | 24 | 2 April 1923 |
| = | Jules Vandooren | DF | 1933–1942 | 3 | 22 | 13 December 1936 |
| = | Marcel Domergue | MF | 1922–1928 | 3 | 20 | 11 April 1926 |
| = | Yvon Douis | FW | 1957–1965 | 3 | 20 | 29 September 1963 |
| = | Jean Prouff | MF | 1946–1949 | 3 | 17 | 23 April 1949 |
| = | Jean-Michel Larqué | MF | 1969–1976 | 3 | 14 | 24 April 1976 |
| = | Robert Budzynski | DF | 1965–1967 | 3 | 11 | 28 September 1966 |
| 68 | Olivier Giroud | FW | 2011–2024 | 2 | 137 | 7 October 2020 |
| = | William Gallas | DF | 2002–2011 | 2 | 84 | 19 November 2008 |
| = | N'Golo Kanté | MF | 2016– | 2 | 64 | 9 September 2024 |
| = | Aurélien Tchouaméni | MF | 2021– | 2 | 38 | 10 October 2024 |
| = | Philippe Mexès | DF | 2002–2012 | 2 | 29 | 11 August 2010 |
| = | Presnel Kimpembe$^§$ | DF | 2018– | 2 | 28 | 6 June 2022 |
| = | René Ferrier | MF | 1958–1964 | 2 | 24 | 4 October 1964 |
| = | Éric Di Meco | DF | 1989–1996 | 2 | 23 | 11 October 1995 |
| = | Maurice Cottenet | GK | 1920–1927 | 2 | 18 | 22 March 1925 |
| = | Gaston Barreau | MF | 1911–1914 | 2 | 12 | 30 April 1911 |
| = | Étienne Jourde | FW | 1910–1914 | 2 | 8 | 3 April 1910 |
| = | Fernand Canelle | DF | 1904–1908 | 2 | 6 | 1 May 1904 |
| = | Daniel Eon | GK | 1966–1967 | 2 | 3 | 22 March 1967 |
| 81 | Sylvain Wiltord | FW | 1999–2006 | 1 | 92 | 31 May 2005 |
| = | Florent Malouda | MF | 2004–2012 | 1 | 80 | 3 September 2010 |
| = | Robert Pires | MF | 1996–2004$^†$ | 1 | 79 | 20 June 2003 |
| = | Jean Tigana | MF | 1980–1988 | 1 | 52 | 16 June 1987 |
| = | Alain Giresse | MF | 1974–1986 | 1 | 47 | 28 March 1984 |
| = | Roger Piantoni | FW | 1952–1961 | 1 | 37 | 27 November 1957 |
| = | Georges Lech | FW | 1963–1973 | 1 | 35 | 11 November 1964 |
| = | Steve Mandanda | GK | 2008–2022 | 1 | 35 | 6 June 2011 |
| = | Samir Nasri | MF | 2007–2013 | 1 | 35 | 25 March 2011 |
| = | Bruno Martini | GK | 1987–1996 | 1 | 31 | 27 May 1992 |
| = | Antoine Cuissard | MF | 1946–1954 | 1 | 27 | 30 May 1954 |
| = | Jean Nicolas | FW | 1933–1938 | 1 | 25 | 24 January 1937 |
| = | Alain Roche | DF | 1988–1996 | 1 | 25 | 22 July 1995 |
| = | Philippe Bonnardel | MF | 1920–1927 | 1 | 23 | 16 March 1927 |
| = | Roger Courtois | FW | 1933–1947 | 1 | 22 | 23 March 1947 |
| = | Ibrahima Konaté | DF | 2022– | 1 | 21 | 17 November 2024 |
| = | Jean-Marc Guillou | MF | 1974–1978 | 1 | 19 | 19 May 1978 |
| = | Vincent Guérin | MF | 1993–1996 | 1 | 19 | 15 November 1995 |
| = | Roger Rio | MF | 1933–1937 | 1 | 18 | 21 February 1937 |
| = | Paul Le Guen | MF | 1993–1995 | 1 | 17 | 29 March 1995 |
| = | Joseph Kaucsar | MF | 1931–1934 | 1 | 15 | 9 June 1932 |
| = | Georges Verriest | MF | 1933–1936 | 1 | 14 | 9 May 1935 |
| = | Gabriel Hanot | DF | 1908–1919 | 1 | 12 | 9 March 1919 |
| = | André Chardar | DF | 1930–1933 | 1 | 12 | 5 June 1932 |
| = | Marius Royet | FW | 1904–1908 | 1 | 9 | 10 May 1908 |
| = | Albert Jourda | MF | 1914–1924 | 1 | 7 | 4 June 1924 |
| = | André François | DF | 1906–1908 | 1 | 6 | 22 October 1908 |
| = | Louis Cazal | MF | 1927–1930 | 1 | 6 | 11 May 1930 |
| = | Jacques Mairesse | DF | 1927–1934 | 1 | 6 | 12 June 1932 |
| = | Robert Lemaître | DF | 1953–1954 | 1 | 2 | 17 December 1953 |
| = | René Bonnet | DF | 1914 | 1 | 1 | 8 February 1914 |

## Timeline

| Tenure | Incumbent | Others used when incumbent unavailable |
| 1904–1905 | Fernand Canelle | |
| 1905–1908 | Pierre Allemane | Marius Royet, André François |
| 1910–1914 | Jean Ducret | Étienne Jourde, Louis Mesnier, Gaston Barreau |
| 1920–1922 | Lucien Gamblin | Henri Bard |
| 1922–1925 | Raymond Dubly | François Hugues |
| 1925–1930 | Paul Nicolas | Jules Dewaquez, Marcel Domergue |
| 1930 | Alexandre Villaplane | |
| 1930–1931 | Henri Pavillard | |
| 1931–1933 | Alex Thépot | Marcel Langiller |
| 1933–1938 | Edmond Delfour | Étienne Mattler, Jules Vandooren |
| 1938–1940 | Étienne Mattler | |
| 1944–1946 | Alfred Aston | |
| 1946–1948 | Oscar Heisserer | Julien Darui |
| 1949–1952 | Jean Baratte | Roger Marche |
| 1952–1959 | Roger Marche | Robert Jonquet, Armand Penverne, Raymond Kopa |
| 1960–1961 | Jean-Jacques Marcel | |
| 1961–1963 | André Lerond | |
| 1965–1966 | Marcel Artelesa | |
| 1967–1969 | Bernard Bosquier | |
| 1969–1972 | Jean Djorkaeff | |
| 1972–1973 | Claude Quittet | |
| 1973–1975 | Georges Bereta | |
| 1975–1976 | Henri Michel | |
| 1976–1979 | Marius Trésor | Christian Lopez |
| 1979–1987 | Michel Platini | Marius Trésor, Maxime Bossis, Patrick Battiston |
| 1987–1988 | Luis Fernández | Manuel Amoros |
| 1988–1992 | Manuel Amoros | Luis Fernández, Franck Sauzée |
| 1992–1993 | Jean-Pierre Papin | |
| 1993–1995 | Eric Cantona | |
| 1995–2000 | Didier Deschamps | Marcel Desailly, Laurent Blanc |
| 2000–2004 | Marcel Desailly | Zinedine Zidane |
| 2004–2005 | Patrick Vieira | Fabien Barthez, Sylvain Wiltord |
| 2005–2006 | Zinedine Zidane | Patrick Vieira, Lilian Thuram |
| 2006–2008 | Patrick Vieira | Lilian Thuram |
| 2008 | Lilian Thuram | Thierry Henry |
| 2008–2010 | Thierry Henry | Patrick Vieira, Eric Abidal, William Gallas |
| 2010 | Patrice Evra | Alou Diarra |
| 2010–2012 | Rotation | Alou Diarra, Hugo Lloris, Eric Abidal, Philippe Mexès, Florent Malouda, Samir Nasri, Steve Mandanda |
| 2012–2022 | Hugo Lloris | Blaise Matuidi, Raphaël Varane, Philippe Mexès, Mamadou Sakho, Olivier Giroud, Presnel Kimpembe, Antoine Griezmann |
| 2023–present | Kylian Mbappé | Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud, N'Golo Kanté, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Ibrahima Konaté |