However, France manager Didier Deschamps went to Olivier Giroud, who set up Benzema in stoppage time, only for Neuer to block his angled effort with a powerful punch. It was France's first defeat at a World Cup finals since 1990 and their first ever at home.
Deschamps announced his resignation after the match. He had been in charge for two years and led France to the quarter-finals. In addition to Euro 2016, he is also expected to be named as Les Bleus' coach for next year's World Cup in Russia.
Deschamps, Didier National Football Team of France/Primary Players After France failed to go past the round of 16 at Euro 2020, Zinedine Zidane is widely seen as the favorite to succeed Didier Deschamps as coach. The Frenchman left Real Madrid this summer following a dismal season in which he did not win a title but did reach the Champions League semi-finals. He has been hired by French football federation (FFF) president Noël Le Graët as a replacement for Deschamps, who resigned after helping France to the World Cup.
Zidane, 49, was one of France's most successful coaches during his time with Juventus and Madrid. He won the UEFA Champions League with Juventus in 2001 before moving to Spain where he became the first player to score in five consecutive Champions Leagues.
He returned to management with the French national team in 2006 and led them to the final of the European Championship before losing to Italy. He left at the end of that tournament to take over at Real Madrid but was sacked just three years into a four-year contract due to poor results.
After leaving Madrid, Zidane went back to coaching Juventus where he led the Italian club to two consecutive Serie A titles before resigning in June 2019. He has been linked with several jobs since then including the post at France but has so far refused to comment on his future plans.
Captain Didier Deschamps
| # | Name | First captaincy |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hugo Lloris§ | 17 November 2010 |
| 2 | Didier Deschamps | 22 March 1994 |
| 3 | Michel Platini | 5 September 1979 |
| 4 | Marcel Desailly | 6 September 1995 |
Desailly was a multiple champion and one of the most decorated players in French football history. The former Chelsea and AC Milan great was gifted with remarkable athleticism and could play at the back or at the base of midfield.
He had two spells with Paris Saint-Germain - from 1991 to 1995 and again from 1997 to 2001 - winning the Ligue 1 title on both occasions. After his second stint with PSG, Desailly returned to Chelsea for a third time, where he won another league title in 2003. He ended his career in 2005 after one season with Milan.
During his international career, Desailly played 51 times for France and is one of only three players to have earned 50 caps for their country (the other two being Zinedine Zidane and Paul Pogba). He made his debut against Italy on 26 May 1990 and scored his first goal four years later in a 2-1 away win over South Korea at the 1994 World Cup. Desailly was part of the French team that finished fourth at the 1996 European Championship and played in the final tournament as well, where he helped his side reach the quarter-finals before losing to Germany.
The lash of their captain's tongue was felt by Thuram and William Gallas. The game finished in a stalemate. France's Zinedine Zidane, left, and Lilian Thuram played during the group stage match between France and Switzerland at the 2006 World Cup. Cristof Stache/Associated Press
Thuram was sent off for two yellow cards and Zidane was replaced by Patrice Evra midway through the second half as France went on to lose 3-0.
He made his international debut against Argentina in a friendly on August 16, 1994. He came on as a substitute for Eric Cantona in the 66th minute of the match which ended in a 1-1 draw. He became the first player from his club team, Marseille, to appear for France.
Thuram was part of all four of France's matches at the 1998 World Cup, including the final, where they lost to Brazil on penalties after the match had ended in a 1-1 tie. He was also included in the French squad that won the 2000 European Football Championship but he did not play any match then.
In 2002, Thuram was one of three players who refused to travel with the national team for its opening match of the World Cup because they didn't want to risk being sent off. The other two players were Patrick Vieira and Jean-Marc Bosman.
Who will lead France in the World Cup final versus Croatia? Deschamps, Didier France is attempting to win their first World Cup championship since winning it on home soil in 1998. France hasn't won the World Cup in almost two decades. They were defeated by Italy in the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup after scoring one goal and conceding three during the match.
The coach is Michel Deschamps, who has been named as captain by France's football federation. The striker is still to be confirmed but it's expected that Kylian Mbappe will get the armband. He's France's most valuable player according to FIFA and recently became only the second teenager (after Brazil's Pele) to score five goals in a single World Cup tournament.
Mbappe is not the only young talent at France who could lead the team in Russia. Many more players born after 1982 are playing in the French national team, such as N'Golo Kante, Paul Pogba, Blaise Matuidi, Olivier Giroud, Djibril Sidibe, and Kingsley Coman.
France won their last major title in 1996, when Hennes Weisweiler led his country to victory in the European Championship. Since then, they have never won another major title.
Getty Images/Mark Metcalfe Alexandre Lacazette is the 32nd French player to join Arsenal under manager Arsene Wenger, thanks to his record-breaking deal. While Arsenal supporters wait to see if he will be the next Thierry Henry or Yaya Sanogo, Bleacher Report has decided to rate Wenger's previous 31 French acquisitions. Here they are in no particular order: Olivier Giroud, Jean-Pierre Bernès, Francis Morency, Serge Aurier, William Gallas, Emmanuel Frimpong, Kieran Gibbs, Sebastien Squillaci, Pascal Cygan, Marouane Chamakh, Alex Song, Thomas Vermaelen, Laurent Koscielny, Zyed Benna, Yaya Sanogo and now Lacazette.
Lacazette, who joined from Lyon for £34 million ($50 million), becomes the most expensive French player ever when including transfer fees. He is the second most expensive French player behind Monaco's Gareth Bale, who cost Real Madrid £85 million ($125 million).
It also marks the first time that an English club has spent more than £30 million on a French player. Previously, the highest fee paid by an English club was £15.8 million for Montpellier forward Nicolas N'Koulou in 2008. The highest fee received by an English club was £50 million for Barcelona's Lionel Messi in 2009.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal's captain, comments Cristiano Ronaldo, the captain of Portugal, will lead the Euro 2020 squad. Anthony Lopes, Rui Patricio, and Rui Silva are the goalkeepers. Joao Cancelo, Nelson Semedo, Jose Fonte, Pepe, Ruben Dias, Nuno Mendes, and Raphael Guerreiro are the defenders. William Carvalho, Danilo Pereira, Eliseu, Fabio Coentrao, Helder Costa, James Rodríguez, Jonny Evans, Joshua King, Leon Goretzka, Mario Gotze, Mohamed Salah, Paul Pogba, Ricardo Carvalho, Rodrigo Bento, Sidnei, Tomás Brocchi, and Willy Cabellero are the midfielders.
Portugal played its first game under Ronaldo's leadership on 16 June 2016 when they defeated Armenia 7-0 in their opening match at the Euro 2016 tournament. The team went on to win three out of their four matches at the tournament to claim a spot in the quarterfinals where they were knocked out by France on penalties after finishing level at 1-1 following extra time.
Ronaldo was named as the player of the tournament for his impressive performance with five goals and one assist from his position in the center of the park. He was also named the best player of the tournament. Portugal finished second behind France in its group and had to play through to the next stage of the competition.
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