Report.az
The main football teams of Azerbaijan and France have faced each other 17 times in UEFA tournaments so far.
According to "Report", two of these belong to the national team, and the rest belong to the clubs.
The first such match dates back to 1994. At that time, the Azerbaijani national team lost to France with two unanswered goals in Trabzon, in the qualifying round of the European Championship. In the match held in Auxerre in 1995, the team lost with 10 unanswered goals.
Later, the "Qarabağ" club competed with "Montpellier" in the II qualifying round of the UEFA Intertoto Cup. The "Khulan horses" lost to their opponent in both matches - 0:3, 0:6.
The paths of Azerbaijani and French teams have crossed a lot in European Cups since 2014. In that year, "Qarabağ" faced "Saint-Étienne" in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League. Both meetings ended in a draw - 0:0, 1:1. The Aghdam club faced the French representative in the Europa League the following year as well. Losing to "Monaco" (0:1) away, the "Khulan horses" achieved a draw in Baku - 1:1.
The first Azerbaijani club to defeat the French was "Gabala". In 2016, the "Red-Blacks" surpassed "Lille" based on the results of two matches in the III qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League - 1:1, 1:0. In the same year, the regional team clarified relations with "Saint-Étienne" in the group stage this time. In both meetings, the French were the happy side - 1:0, 2:1.
"Qarabağ", which passed the group stage of the UEFA Conference League in the 2021/2022 season, competed with "Marseille" in the play-off. Both matches ended with the defeat of the current champion of Azerbaijan - 1:3, 0:3. In 2022, the Aghdam team faced "Nantes" twice in the group stage of the Europa League. The team, which surpassed its opponent with 3 unanswered goals in the match in Baku, reconciled with the defeat in France - 1:2.
Finally, "Qarabağ" hosted "Lyon" in Baku in 2024, in the main stage of the Europa League. The match ended with the opponent's victory - 4:1.
It should be noted that the Azerbaijani national team will face France on October 10 in the qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. The match will be held at the "Park de Princes" stadium at 22:45 Baku time.
