# France–Germany football rivalry

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 Championships 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".

## 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 (5–4 p) |
| 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 |

## Statistics
### All-time top goalscorers

    As of 12 September 2023
| Player | Goals | Years |
| Antoine Griezmann | 5 | 2014–present |
| Just Fontaine | 4 | 1958 |
| Rudi Völler | 3 | 1982–1994 |
| Gerd Müller | 3 | 1966–1974 |

### Overall record

    As of 23 March 2024
| Competition | Matches | Result | Result | Result | Goals | Goals |
| Competition | Matches | 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 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| All competitions | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 10 |
| Friendly | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 37 | 40 |
| All matches | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 51 | 50 |
Note 1: * Germany overcame France in 1982 FIFA World Cup semi-final match via penalty shoot-out.