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France v Azerbaijan, also known as the "Auxerre tragedy" in Azerbaijani media, was a football match belonging to the UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying that took place on 6 September 1995.
France won the game 10–0, and it went down as the largest victory in the history of the France national team until it was surpassed by a 14–0 win over Gibraltar in 2023. The match also became the biggest defeat of the Azerbaijan national team, a record that still stands today.
This would be the 8th match for both teams in the first group of the UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying. While Azerbaijan already lost its chance to participate in the tournament, France was still fighting for a ticket. Prior to the game, France's biggest victory was 8–0, twice over Luxembourg (20 April 1913 and 17 December 1953) and against Iceland (2 June 1957). Azerbaijan had suffered its biggest defeat (0–5) in a friendly match against Malta on 19 April 1994.
Azerbaijan did not start a true striker for the match, instead utilising captain Shahin Diniyev in a rudimentary attacking role, while the French XI was almost at their full strength.
After the game, France took second place with 14 points, ahead of Poland, while Azerbaijan remained in last with 8 losses. Head coach Aghasalim Mirjavadov resigned immediately after the defeat, citing the inability of the players, the low level of training and the opponents' strength as the reasons for the defeat.
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Romania
Poland
France
Slovakia
Israel
Azerbaijan
13'
France
57'
57'
49'