The France–Spain football rivalry (French: Rivalité footballistique France-Espagne, Spanish: Rivalidad futbolística entre Francia y España) is one of the biggest and most heated association football rivalries in Europe, between France and Spain, two of the most successful national teams in the world as well as neighbours in Europe.[1]
Like many European countries, football began to reach France and Spain in the late 19th century, and, just like any neighbors, Spain and France shared similar interests in promoting the sport. This led to the two countries' attempt to establish their football associations and seek friendlies. This led to the two countries playing their first-ever friendly in 1922, where Spain outclassed the host 4–0.[2] However, subsequent turmoils meant that there was very little space for football in Spain and France to develop, with the French showed little interests on football at first even when hosting the 1938 FIFA World Cup and Spain was drowned into a brutal civil war. Eventually, the World War II led to the tensions between two nations, with Spain under pro-Nazi Francisco Franco despite its neutrality, and majority of French who opposed Nazi occupation; Spain was viewed with suspicion by France for sheltering several Nazi collaborators during the German occupation of France.[3][4] After the WWII, Spain and France established official relations, and football rivalry began to redevelop.
Initially, Spain achieved its first success in any major competition, winning the 1964 European Nations' Cup, and the rivalry remained a little one-sided with Spain being dominant until France's conquest of UEFA Euro 1984, which they beat Spain in the final. Subsequently, with the following quick development of football in France, especially the establishment of INF Clairefontaine, football successes started to shift to France, and France proved to be more dominant in international achievements than Spain. The rivalry reached a new height after Spain suffered an agonizing 2–1 defeat to France in the 2021 UEFA Nations League final, which attracted media in both countries due to their successes in football competitions and has since become popular throughout confrontation between the two national teams as part of the multi-dimensional rivalry between two states.[5][6][7][8]
Spain holds an edge by victories, winning 16 games compared to France's 13. However, in comparison to the number of competitive wins, France proves more dominant than Spain, with 6 wins compared to just 2 of Spain.
In the 2020s there were several players with close ties to both countries, including France's Antoine Griezmann, the Hernandez brothers Lucas and Théo (both of Spanish descent) who spent most or all of their careers in Spain, Karim Benzema and Raphaël Varane who had long spells at Real Madrid, the younger Wissam Ben Yedder, Eduardo Camavinga, Ousmane Dembélé, Jules Koundé, Thomas Lemar, Clément Lenglet, Ferland Mendy and Aurélien Tchouaméni who also featured prominently in La Liga,[9] a Spanish contingent at Paris Saint-Germain (comprising internationals Marco Asensio, Juan Bernat, Ander Herrera, Sergio Ramos, Sergio Rico, Fabián Ruiz, Pablo Sarabia and Carlos Soler over a handful of seasons), and France-born defenders Aymeric Laporte and Robin Le Normand who both opted to become naturalised to play for the Spain national team due to greater opportunities for selection in their position compared with their birth nation.[10]