France Retro Shirts

France football team shirts and history: the origins

The blue color of the flag of France comes from the Capetian dynasty, which begins with the first King Hugues Capet. This dynasty reigned in France without interruption from 987 to 1792. If we look at images of the coat of arms of the Kingdom of France, we can appreciate the color blue that will later be included in the shirts. As we see the history of the National teams and football shirts, symbol of these, is always linked to the history of each nation.

Les Bleus! This is also how the French national football team is named in reference to the color of its kit. And yet the first shirt was white, more specifically in 1904, during their first official game against Belgium that ended 3-3. Later the team will play with a red and even green shirt.

It was not until March 23, 1908 that France first wore blue when it faced England. Although it must be admitted that Les Bleus intervention on the pitch to inaugurate the blue jersey was not particularly brilliant as France suffered a bitter defeat.

But these beginnings do not represent the French team, which, let's not forget, has twice reached the roof of the football championship winning two World Cups, in 1998 and 2018, as well as two European Football Championship, in 1984, its first great title and the Euro 2000. During its history it has also known a long collection of different shirts that are still engraved in the imagination of its fans.

Let's try to follow the long journey of the french team.

Shirts and history of France national football team in the 20s, 30s and 40s

The French Football Federation, the FFF was created in 1919 and the kit for the celebration of the first match of 1908 against England will become the official kit of Los Bleus, with a blue shirt as we have mentioned before, white shorts and red socks, the tricolor of the French flag. The second set will consist of a red shirt, white shorts and blue socks.

France football Team 1920s

For the 1924 Olympics, France hired a coach from the United Kingdom, Charles Griffiths. In other words, in those days, the football teams look around in order to attract the best talent. During the tournament, the French were eliminated in the quarterfinals, 5-1, against Uruguay, which really was one of the favorite teams in the championship.

During these first decades, the French will participate in the first World Cup in football history, that of Uruguay in 1930. The French men began their participation with a victory against Mexico, 4-1. Lucien Laurent scored the Bleus' first goal in the World Cup. But the French will lose their match against Argentina and Chile and will have return home.

The French team also participated in the World Cups in Italy 1934 and in France 1938. In the latter, where they were also hosting the championship, Les Bleus after their victory against Belgium, were eliminated by Italy in the quarter-finals. The italian men  won the championship.


Football in the 1940s was marked by World War II and the German occupation. In fact, the 1942 World Cup was suspended and will not resume until 1950 in Brazil. The France jersey during this period will always be the iconic blue jersey with no changes to highlight.


Kits and history of Les Bleus in the 1950s

During this decade, the French team wears a long-sleeved polo-neck shirt, with the characteristic blue color and the Gallic rooster in the heart.

Above you can access this France shirt from the 50s from our catalog. This elegant jersey was the inspiration for the design of a special jersey to commemorate in 2019 the centenary of the French Football Federation, the FFF, during a match against Iceland.

The French team will not qualify for the 1950 Brazil Football World Cup. But the team will be able to rebuild and take off with young and talented players.

After the Switzerland 1954 World Cup, where the french squad had a not very remarkable performance, during the 1958 World Cup, France will finish in third position thanks to the magnificent and very remarkable competition of a player, Just Fontaine, whose record in this World Cup still remains at active in the history of World Cup football records; highest scorer in a single World Cup with 13 goals. The footballer center-forward Raymond Kopa will also be a very important player for the the team to be awarded the Bronze Medal. Other players to highlight; Penverne, Piantoni, Wisnieski, Vincent, Jonquet, and Cisowski.

France national team 1958

Shirts and history of the French national team in the 1960s

As we discussed earlier, the kit used from the first game in 1908 to 1966 consisted of a blue shirt, white shorts and red socks.

The second jersey, which had traditionally been a red jersey will be replaced by the white shirt due to the appearance of black and white television matches. This white jersey will give a sharper contrast on the screen to allow spectators to follow the players on the field.

On the other hand, Le Coq Sportif will join the Adidas brand and will become in 1966 the supplier of the 1966 World Cup shirt. The V-neck jersey with the tricolor of the French flag on the collar, short sleeves, a modern and stylish shirt that will trigger the phase of shirts with riskier designs of the 70s and 80s.

The most notable event of this decade was the organization of the first European Championship of football history in 1960, whose final phase was played in France. Les Bleus will easily manage to qualify for the finals, but will fall in the semifinal against Yugoslavia, 4 - 5, with goals from Vincent, Heutte that won the title of top scorer in the championship, and Wiesnesk.

During the 1966 World Cup in England, the French team of Gondet, the leading attacker, Djorkaeff, Budzinski, Bosquier, Herbin, Artelesa, Simon, Herbet, Hausser, Bonnel, among others, could pass the first phase. With a 1-1 draw against Mexico and losing matches against a strong Uruguay 2-1 and against England the then host country 0-2, the Bleus must return to France.

Also noteworthy is the participation of the French Football Federation in the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games. The French football team will be in the quarterfinals against the Japan team, but will not be able to qualify for the semi-finals. The France 1968 Olympics Retro Shirt is excellent and also different from the previous ones; The rooster is replaced by the tricolor based emblem of the flag of France. Above you can access the replica of this France 1968 Olympic Games Shirt, a beautiful simple but modern shirt that is therefore still very cool today.

1970s French football team shirts and history of the team

The Adidas brand continues the tradition of making the stylish France team shirts in a single color, the royal blue, a strong, vibrant blue, with few details. However during this decade, Adidas modified some small details, which will make a big difference, such as the tricolor bands that appear on a large round neck or adorn the shoulders and sleeves and, similarly, the edges of the sleeves, short or long. The neck will be modified, going from the V neck, to the round neck or polo neck and the tricolor rooster is widely highlighted. The Adidas brand will also insert its logo on the jersey, unlike the Coq Sportif.

The French kits of this decade are excellent, but in the sports field the 70s are a very difficult, even a dark period for Les Bleus. The team cannot qualify for the 1970 and the 1974 World Cups. In the 1978 World Cup, where they did participate, they fell in the first round after two defeats, against the teams from Italy and Argentina.

At Euro 1972, Les Bleus will finish third in the qualifying group stage and will not be able to advance to the final stage of the competition.

Above you can access the two replicas of the 70s jerseys that we have in our France shirts section: the France 1970's Retro Shirt with round neck and the embroidered gallic rooster on the chest, a replica of the jersey used by Les Bleus during the years 70. This shirt represents the era of Djorkaeff, Lemerre and Loubet, but also Platini's first game with the French team.

The France 1971 retro shirt follows the designs of the second half of the 1960s, with a V-neck, with the colors of the French flag on the neck and on the short sleeves and with an elegant and proud gallic rooster embroidered in the chest. This is the kit used by the French national team under the direction of George Boulogne worn during the qualifiers for the 1972 European Football Championship that took place in Belgium.

70s France football team

Shirts and history of the French football team in the 80s

The 80s caused an incentive at all levels, in sport and in terms of design of the French team kits. Designers take risks and include small white vertical stripes, red and white horizontal stripes, bands that follow the shape of the shoulders on the shirts. The neck changes; V-shaped collar in both blue and white, white polo collar with tricolor.

At the 1982 Spanish World Cup in Seville, players will wear a jersey with interesting details from the German supplier Adidas. The round neck will change and Michel Platini's teammates will wear a royal blue jersey with a white polo collar. We distinguish in this classic jersey small vertical stripes on the bust.

This 1982 football World Cup marked the moment the French team took off, a momentum that would last through the 1980s to delight French fans.

The generation with Platini, Bossis and Rocheteau will qualify to play the semi-finals of the championship against the West Germany squad of Rummenigge, Fischer and Schumacher. This match at the Sánchez Pijuan stadium in Seville is considered one of the most exciting and most electric in the history of the World Cups. After 1-1 in regulation time, with a result of 3-3 in extra time, the game was settled by penalty shoot-out
. It will be the first time that a game in World Cup competition has been decided by penalties, which gives the moment an impressive symbolic charge. The Germans will win the match and France will finish this World Cup in fourth place.

The 1984 UEFA European Championship will take place in France. Les Bleus, under Michel Hidalgo and with Domergue, Tigana, Luis Fernández, captain Michel Platini, Battiston, Le Roux will take the title in the final, 2-0, against the Spanish team of Camacho, Arconada, Señor and Santillana. This victory is also the first international victory for the French team in a European Championship or in a World Cup, which immediately adds an extra joy and satisfaction to the staunch French fans.

During the championship, the legendary shirt with the large horizontal red stripe and the three small white stripes underneath will be a good talisman for this glittering team.

1984 French football team

The French team will also win the Gold Medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and the Artemio Franchi Cup that was contested between the 1984 Euro winner and the America Cup winner, Uruguay that year.

The French team almost achieves glory at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, qualifying in third position after winning the round of 16 match against Italy, World Champion in 1982. In the quarterfinals the French team won the match against the Brazilian team, a spectacular match. But it fell again, in the semifinals against Germany finishing in third position. The 1986 Blue White Polo Neck Short Sleeve Shirt with white stripes and red stripes is a jersey much appreciated by fans.

The epic of the 1998 French team

Absent from the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, Les Bleus are the host country for the 1998 World Cup. This World Cup will forever remain in the imagination of fans as the French won the World Championship. For the occasion, the players wore a shirt with a tricolor collar, shoulder bands and a large red stripe over 3 small white stripes. It is certainly not the most aesthetic shirt, but it is still one of the most mythical shirts that embodies the dream of several generations.

This dream will survive with the victories in the UEFA Euro 2000 and more recently in the 2018 World Cup.

If you are looking for retro shirts of the French national team, for your children, your partner, your father, your colleagues or for yourself to impress with a very cool sporty look, you are in your ideal football store. Here you will find all the history of football and also fantastic replicas of the shirts with which Les Bleus achieved glory. These retro football jerseys will awaken your nostalgia and immerse you in a great past populated by the great icons of French football, from Platini to Éric Cantona, Thierry Henry and Zinedine Zidane.