Thuram holds record for France wins despite Giroud and Griezmann's retirement

Lilian Thuram holds his record for victories with the France national team. With 93 successes accumulated between 1994 and 2008, the 1998 World Cup champion and 2000 European Championship winner has resisted all his successors, including Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann, who hung up the tricolour shirt with 91 and 90 wins respectively on their records.

Hugo Lloris, the only player to have surpassed Thuram in the number of caps (145 versus 142), won only 88 matches in his international career. The goalkeeper, who ended his adventure with the Bleus in 2022, narrowly missed the opportunity to catch up with his former teammate during his final campaign, having missed six matches that year.

Giroud and Griezmann both ended their international careers with 137 caps, the same total, and remain active at club level — at LOSC and Orlando City in MLS respectively — with no prospect of returning to the Bleus.

Kylian Mbappé, current captain of the France team managed by Zinédine Zidane, is still far from the record. At 27 years old, he has 106 caps and 71 wins. To reach Thuram’s 93 successes, he would need, according to projections, another four to five years without missing a single gathering. The Guadeloupean can savour this: his two international goals — scored during the legendary brace against Croatia in the semi-final of the 1998 World Cup — are not his only statistical legacy.