France news

Find out who won the very first World Cup in 1930 and how the tournament began.

Paul Pogba could be facing another delay in his bid to make a competitive debut for Monaco, with the World Cup winner still working his way towards full match sharpness. Pogba has been out of action since September 2023, having been stung with a doping ban, and is yet to open a new adventure in Ligue 1 - with no unnecessary risks being taken on his fitness.

Kylian Mbappe has been told that he is still “missing something” in his bid to land an elusive Ballon d’Or. The France international was expected to dominate Golden Ball discussions as all-time greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo step out of that spotlight, but he has been informed by a fellow World Cup winner that being a ‘Galactico’ at Real Madrid may not be enough.

Ousmane Dembele may be a Ballon d’Or winner, but former Ligue 1 star Chris Waddle claims that the Paris Saint-Germain forward can look “like a fourth division player” at times. The France international has been named the best player on the planet in 2025, with an era of dominance from all-time greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo being brought to a close.

Jean-Philippe Mateta insists he and Wilfried Zaha have cleared the air after their public spat last week. The Crystal Palace striker said, after scoring his first goal for France, that team-mates at Palace had laughed at his dream of playing for his country, and named Zaha as one of the players involved in the mockery, leading to a furious response from the FC Charlotte star.

Paul Pogba may be preparing for his football comeback but he is clearly diversifying his interests after launching a new clothing brand in what could be seen as a major career switch. The former Manchester United and Juventus midfielder is currently on the books at Monaco but has not yet made his debut for the Ligue 1 club.

Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso provided a key update on Kylian Mbappe's fitness ahead of the club's La Liga fixture against Getafe this weekend. The star forward picked up an injury while on international duty with France. He limped off the pitch late on during Les Bleus' clash with Azerbaijan and missed their World Cup qualifier against Iceland after being released from the French squad.

AC Milan are facing a mounting injury crisis after Adrien Rabiot was ruled out for at least a month with a calf lesion sustained on France duty. Christian Pulisic has also been sidelined with a hamstring tear he sustained in a friendly for the United States, leaving Milan short-handed ahead of a crucial run of Serie A fixtures for Massimiliano Allegri's title hopefuls.

Olivier Giroud has revealed his plans to emulate iconic striker Cristiano Ronaldo. Giroud returned to France over the summer following a year in America with MLS side LAFC. The experienced striker has made a solid start to life back in his homeland with Lille having scored two goals in his opening six Ligue 1 appearances and has no plans to stop playing anytime soon.

Wilfried Zaha has launched a scathing attack on Jean-Phillipe Mateta, branding claims from his former Crystal Palace team-mate “disgusting”. The Ivory Coast international has not taken kindly to seeing a French forward that he once shared a dressing room with make comments that could be interpreted as him being a “bully”, with Zaha eager to get his side of the story across.

Luca Zidane has received his first-ever Algeria call-up at 27 years old, marking a new chapter in his career. The Granada goalkeeper, son of French legend Zinedine Zidane, switched his international allegiance from France and says he’s “ready to give everything” with the Fennecs already sure of a place at the 2026 World Cup.

"La France, c'est vous." Translated as 'France, is you', that was what French president Charles de Gaulle told footballer Rachid Mekhloufi in 1968. Mekhloufi had just led his Saint-Etienne side to the double, and the reward was an audience with the most powerful man in the country. For Mekhloufi, this sentence brought things full circle. Now he was both Algerian and French; 10 years earlier, he had - in a sense - been neither.

France were held to a frustrating 2-2 draw against Iceland in what turned out to be a trickier World Cup qualifying away trip than many expected it to be. Following the game, head coach Didier Deschamps explained his unhappiness with the officiating, claiming that midfielder Manu Kone was fouled in the build up to the hosts' opening goal in the first half.