French speaking teams World Cup 2022

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French Speaking Teams in the World Cup 2022

The World cup started in November 20th, and we are now heading into the round of 16 matches. Since we are a French language and cultural centre, and as we approach the final games of the World Cup 2022, we thought it’d be a good idea to write about the French Speaking themes that have and are currently competing.

Francophone World Cup Teams


This year, there are six teams that have French as one of their official languages. Some of them have more experience than others in world cup matches since they have had repeated participations and even won the World Cup in the past. We have listed them here in alphabetical order. 

Belgium

Belgium, whose country official countries are Dutch, German, and French, has played 14 times in a world cup. They left in third place in 2018, the Belgians hoped that their golden generation, driven by the players De Bruyne, Hazard and Lukaku, would bring home the title; however, things didn’t go as planned and they missed their chance during their match against Croatia. 

Canada

This was the second time that Canada participated in the world cup games. They had two objectives in mind: score the first-ever goal in a world cup tournament and prepare the team for the year 2026, as they will be one of the co-host countries. Mission accomplished on both objectives. They did not pass on to the second round but can be proud of their performance. Go Canada! 

Cameroon

Cameroon’s official languages are English and French (just like Canada).  

Their team, the Indomitable Lions qualified in extremis against Algeria in the playoffs and are eager to revive their glorious past in the World Cup. Cameroon is indeed the African country with the most World Cup appearances and was also the first African country to reach the quarterfinals in 1990. Unfortunately, they did not qualify for the Round of 16 but they beat Brazil, a strong opponent, giving them a prestigious win. 

France

France is not new to the world cup. This is their sixteenth participation and have been crowned champions two times (in 1998 and 2018). 
At the World Cup in Qatar, France is defending its title acquired in 2018 in Russia. Although deprived of several important players (Benzema, Pogba and Kanté), Kylian MBappé's France is one of the favorite teams and the French are ready to get fired up for Les Bleus! 

Senegal

 There are 39 languages spoken in Senegal, including Arabic; however, French is their official language.  

Their team,, the Lions of Teranga are participating in their third World Cup and the defending African champions will be ambitious, despite the absence of their star Sadio Mané. Nevertheless, the backbone of the team has many talented and experienced players (Koulibaly, Mendy) and will remain a formidable opposition. 

Senegal made it into the round of 16 and will be playing fearlessly against England for a potential quarter final against France. 


Switzerland

Switzerland’s official languages are French, German, Italian and Romansh (locally). This is the twelfth appearance of Switzerland in the world cup games. In 2018, they reached the round of 16 but didn’t make it to the quarterfinals. Now, during the Qatar World Cup, they are hoping to reach the quarterfinals, as the last time they qualified was in 1954. 


Are you rooting for any team in particular? Who do you think will win the Qatar World Cup? Let us know by commenting on our Social Media post!

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