Euro 2008 France Team Guide

Welcome to the euro2008betting.com France Team Guide for Euro 2008. Here we preview the chances of France for Euro 2008 plus take a look back at their Euro 2008 qualifiying performance and previous appearances at the European Championships.

Coach: Raymond Domenech

France euro 2008 guide Raymond Domenech is a former French football player, notably for Lyon and RC Strasbourg and is the current head coach of the French national team. Widely regarded as a shrewd and tactical manager, Domenech led France to the World Cup Final in 2006 and secured "Les Bleus" qualification for Euro 2008.

Euro 2008 Qualifying:

France's Group B campaign proved more of an ordeal than many would have anticipated although Italy's 2-1 win in Scotland did them a big favour by making their final game in Ukraine a formality. A rematch with Italy, the team who had denied them the 2006 FIFA World Cup, was the big treat for the neutrals and France took first blood at the Stade de France in their second qualifier with goals from Sidney Govou (2) and Thierry Henry earning a 3-1 win. However, Raymond Domenech’s team lost 1-0 to Scotland in Glasgow in their next game to put a surprising complexion on the section. France settled themselves with a run of four wins and then drew 0-0 with Italy in Milan. However, once more a good result against Italy was followed by a shock against the Scots as James McFadden's strike in Paris consigned the French to a second 1-0 loss against the group's surprise contenders. Henry subsequently broke Michel Platini's record of 41 goals for France in the 2-0 win against Lithuania and fears that France might need a result in Ukraine in their final game were to prove unfounded. Les Bleus finished second in the section behind Italy.

Past Euro Performance:

France are the only other country apart from three-time winners Germans to have won the competition more than once following successes in 1984 and 2000. The victory in 1984 came on home soil as hosts with Spain defeated 2-0 in the final at Parc des Princes in Paris. The French won all their matches in the competition, defeating Denmark (1-0), Belgium (5-0) and Yugoslavia (3-2) in the group phase before Portugal (3-2 after extra-time) were accounted for in the semi-finals at Marseille's Stade Vélodrome. France edged out Ukraine and Russia by one and two points respectively to book an automatic spot at the UEFA EURO 2000 finals which were co-hosted by Belgium and the Hollands. Roger Lemerre's side were second to the Dutch through the three-match group phase, but they overcame Spain (2-1) and Portugal (2-1 after extra-time) in the knockout phase before defeating Italy in the final. The endgame also went to extra-time with Marco Delvecchio putting the Italians ahead after 55 minutes only for Sylvain Wiltord to equalise in stoppage time. France went on to win the game thanks to David Trezeguet's goal after 103 minutes.

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