England v France: The French Connection

Friday 13 March 2009By ESFA Office

Last Updated:
10/02/2021 10:48:49

England Schoolboy International Ryan Wilson

Ryan Giggs 1989

England v France
U18 Schoolboy International
Saturday 13 June 2009
Wembley Stadium
Kick-off 3pm

French football has rarely been out of the limelight. Whether it is the national team winning international honours, or a star player or manager reaching the dizzy heights in the English Premier League, two things are certain – flair and passion will abound.

Off the pitch, France has been instrumental in producing many ground-breaking personnel and world-wide innovations. Robert Guerin was the first President of FIFA in 1904. Jules Rimet was responsible for the creation and launch of the World Cup. Henri Delaunay formulated the European Championship. The Paris sports newspaper, L’Equipe, set off the chain of events which created the three hugely successful European club competitions. The list goes on.

France were one of only four European nations that took part in the inaugural World Cup finals of 1930; finished third in 1958 and were winners in 1998. They were European Championship winners in 1984 and 2000.

In the current French squad are several players now with English clubs: William Gallas, Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri (all Arsenal) and Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), whilst recent call-ups include Abou Diaby (Arsenal), Florent Malouda (Chelsea) and Djibril Cisse (Sunderland). Other ex-English club Frenchmen currently in the French squad include Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira. And who can forget the exploits of Eric Cantona, Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane?

At schoolboy level, the first game at under 15 level came in 1972 when England won 1-0 in an international tournament in what was then West Germany. This was followed by a 5-0 victory in Paris a year later. The first Wembley game came in 1974 when England won again, this time by 5-2.

At under 18 level, there have only been three previous encounters, with England losing each time: at Gillingham in 1994 by 2-1, in Armentieres in 1995 by 5-0, and in 1997 in Norwich by 1-0. So England are overdue a victory in what will be the first time the two countries will have met at Wembley. French players went on to play in the French league with clubs such as FC Nantes, Saint-Etiennes, Auxerre and Toulouse.

The French under 18 team have played six times this season, all at home. They lost 0-1 to Ukraine, drew 1-1 with Denmark, beat the Republic of Ireland 5-0, beat Serbia 2-1, drew 0-0 with Turkey and then beat Turkey 1-0 a few days later.

Who knows if one or two of today’s youngsters might be presenting a threat at senior level in the French or English leagues in a few years time? Players that have previously represented England Schoolboys against France that have gone onto professional honours include:

Ryan Giggs (Wilson) 1989; Nick Barmby 1989; Nicky Butt 1990; Phil Neville 1992; Danny Murphy 1992; Jody Morris 1994; Francis Jeffers 1996; Scott Parker 1996; Joe Cole 1997; Leon Osman 1997 and Stephen Warnock in 1997.

For more information on this years England v France Schoolboy International go to www.esfa.co.uk/wembley

To purchase tickets go to www.esfa.co.uk/wembleytickets


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