27 June 1984 - For France, There's No Place Like Home

On 27 June 1984, France won their first international trophy, beating Spain 2-0 in the Final of the European Championship. Perhaps not coincidentally, France hosted the tournament.

Les Bleus had enjoyed some prior international success, finishing in third at the 1958 World Cup, fourth in the 1982 World Cup, and fourth at the 1960 European Championship, but had not reached a final. That changed in 1984, when, as hosts of that year's European Championship and led by midfielder Michel Platini, they successfully navigated through their first-round group, winning all three matches. Platini scored in all three and recorded hat-tricks in two of them. In the semi-finals, they defeated Portugal in extra time thanks to a 119th-minute Platini goal to advance to the final against Spain.

The final was played before a capacity crowd of 47,368 at the Parc des Prince in Paris. After a scoreless first half, Platini struck again with a 57th-minute goal to give France the lead. His tournament-best ninth goal, it came from a free kick that slipped through the hands of Spanish keeper Luis Arconada. Striker Bruno Bellone sealed the win with a 90th-minute goal.

In 1998, France claimed their second international trophy by winning the World Cup, which they also hosted. Two years later, they won their first international trophy on foreign soil, beating Italy in the European Championship final in Rotterdam.

15 December 1982 - One Of Those Things Was Not Like The Other

On 15 December 1982, England got goals from a record number of scorers when they beat Luxembourg 9-0 in a European qualifier. And one of them wasn't English.

The match, played at Wembley, was the third of the qualification campaign for both teams, with England taking a win and draw in their previous two and Luxembourg losing both of theirs. So it was no surprise when the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute, though the scorer's identity may have been—Luxembourg's Marcel Bossi put the ball into his own net while trying to clear a square ball from Luther Blissett.

It was only the beginning of what turned out to be the most lopsided result of the campaign for either team. By the break, England were up 4-0 with additional goals from Steve Coppell (22'), Tony Woodcock (34'), and Blissett (44'). Blissett scored twice more in the second half (62', 86') along with Mark Chamberlain (71'), Glenn Hoddle (87'), and Phil Neal (89') to stretch the final margin to 9-0.

The seven different scorers (including Bossi) set an England record for the largest number of scorers in a single match. But it wasn't enough for England to qualify, as they ultimately finished second to Denmark in the group and missed out on the tournament.

27 June 1984 - For France, There's No Place Like Home

On 27 June 1984, France won their first international trophy, beating Spain 2-0 in the Final of the European Championship. Perhaps not coincidentally, France hosted the tournament.

Les Bleus had enjoyed some prior international success, finishing in third at the 1958 World Cup, fourth in the 1982 World Cup, and fourth at the 1960 European Championship, but had not reached a final. That changed in 1984, when, as hosts of that year's European Championship and led by midfielder Michel Platini, they successfully navigated through their first-round group, winning all three matches. Platini scored in all three and recorded hat-tricks in two of them. In the semi-finals, they defeated Portugal in extra time thanks to a 119th-minute Platini goal to advance to the final against Spain.

The final was played before a capacity crowd of 47,368 at the Parc des Prince in Paris. After a scoreless first half, Platini struck again with a 57th-minute goal to give France the lead. Platini's tournament-best ninth goal, it came from a free kick that slipped through the hands of Spanish keeper Luis Arconada. Striker Bruno Bellone sealed the win with a 90th-minute goal.

In 1998, France claimed their second international trophy by winning the World Cup, which they also hosted. Two years later, they won their first international trophy on foreign soil, beating Italy in the European Championship final in Rotterdam.

28 March 1984 - And Luxembourg Is Right Next To France

On 28 March 1984, France beat Austria in Bordeaux, by the score of 1-0. It was the second match in France's streak of twelve consecutive wins over a period of thirteen months. Midfielder Michel Platini was the French captain during the run, which started with a 2-0 win over England on 29 February 1984. The French followed up their victory over Austria with wins against West Germany (1-0) and Scotland (2-0).

France's success carried into the summer, when it hosted the 1984 UEFA European Championship. The French swept their group, beating Denmark (1-0), Belgium (5-0), and Yugoslavia (3-2) and advanced to the semifinals against Portgual, setting up a match that became one of the most exciting contests in the history of the Euros. After the teams went into extra time tied at 1-1, striker Rui Jordao put Portugal ahead in the 98th minute. Les Bleus staged a stunning comeback with a goal from Jean-Francois Domergue in the 114th minute to bring them level before Platini scored the winning goal in the 119th minute. France then defeated Spain in the final, 2-0, to claim their first major international title.

The French continued their incredible run with victories in World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg (4-0), Bulgaria (1-0), and East Germany (2-0). After more than a year since the streak began, it finally ended on 3 April 1985 when France drew 0-0 with Yugoslavia in their final qualifying match. Despite the draw, France finished at the top of its qualifying group and progressed to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. There, Les Bleus advanced to the semifinals where they lost to West Germany 2-0, then beat Belgium 4-2 in the third place match.

Throughout its run of victories, France enjoyed a significant home advantage, as all but one of the twelve matches in the streak were played in France. The other one was the 4-0 win away to Luxembourg.