France's Dominant World Cup Knockout Record Since 1958 Highlights Only Germany as Barrier
France is not only a favorite to reach the World Cup final on Tuesday but also boasts a remarkable knockout stage history in the tournament. Since 1958, France has been eliminated in the knockout rounds by only one team: Germany. From 1982 onwards, France faced 21 knockout matches against 15 different teams, with Germany defeating them three times, in the 1982 and 1986 semifinals and the 2014 quarterfinals.
During this period, France eliminated several strong teams multiple times, including Italy and Brazil twice each, Paraguay twice, Croatia twice, and once each Spain, Portugal, Nigeria, Argentina, Uruguay, Belgium, Poland, England, Morocco twice, and Sweden. Before the color TV era, France was knocked out three times by Austria (1934), Italy (1938 final), and Brazil (1958).
France reached the World Cup final twice more, losing only on penalties to Italy in 2006 and Argentina in 2022, which statistically counts as draws rather than losses. This impressive knockout record underscores France's consistent strength in World Cup elimination matches, a fact Spain might consider ahead of their encounter.
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