Brest field all-French XI against OL, Ligue 1 first since 2012

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·19 January 2026

Brest named an all-French starting XI against OL on Sunday night in Ligue 1.

According to Opta, it is the first time since 4 March 2012 that a Ligue 1 club has begun a match with an entirely French line-up.

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OL, meanwhile, started the game without a single French player, a first in the club’s history.

The last team to do so were Caen, who faced Brest in March 2012. Stade Malherbe drew 0-0 at home, then were relegated to Ligue 2 a few months later.

Franck Dumas was in charge that day and started Nicolas Seube, Romain Hamouma, Lenny Nangis and Pierre-Alain Frau.

Source: L'Équipe