Brazil vs. France: Head-to-head record and past meetings

The Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts plays host to a blockbuster friendly encounter on Thursday, when World Cup 2026 hopefuls Brazil and France go head-to-head.

Carlo Ancelotti and Didier Deschamps cross paths after Mundial qualifying campaigns of differing success rates, as Brazil could only muster a fifth-placed finish in the CONMEBOL section, 10 points behind holders Argentina.

Meanwhile, Les Bleus took 16 points from an available 18 as they cruised through their UEFA section, thus qualifying for what will be Deschamps's final World Cup as France head coach.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.

Head-to-head record

Previous meetings: 15

Brazil wins: 6

Draws: 3

France wins: 6

The head-to-head standings between France and Brazil heading into their 2026 friendly could not be more evenly-poised, as Les Bleus and the Selecao both boast six victories against the other from 15 previous competitive and non-competitive contests.

Of those 15 showdowns between the senior men's teams, 10 of them have been fought in international friendlies, including the most recent two both won by the South American powerhouses.

Dunga masterminded a 3-1 victory for Brazil in March 2015 thanks to goals from Oscar, Neymar and Luis Gustavo, two years after a straightforward 3-0 exhibition win, when Oscar was on target once more.

Prior to that three-goal beating in 2013, however, France had strung together a six-game unbeaten run against Brazil from 1997 to 2011, including one of their most memorable victories in the history of French football at the 1998 World Cup.

Ronaldo and Rivaldo were powerless against the might of Zinedine Zidane and Emmanuel Petit, as a 10-man France side prevailed 3-0 in the World Cup final, before another pair of standout competitive triumphs over Brazil.

Les Bleus also conquered the Selecao 2-1 in the semi-finals of the 2001 Confederations Cup - which they went on to win - before a 1-0 triumph in the 2006 World Cup quarter-finals before their Italy-inflicted penalty heartbreak.

However, France came out on the correct end of the shootout scoreline in the 1986 edition, when they dumped Brazil out in the quarter-finals but ultimately had to accept a third-placed finish.

Eliminating the South Americans that year was belated revenge for the events of 1958, where in the first-ever meeting between the two nations, Pele ran France ragged to become the youngest-ever World Cup hat-trick scorer in a 5-2 semi-final victory.