5 memorable Coupe de France semi-finals

Ahead of this week's Coupe de France semi-finals (Lens v Toulouse and Strasbourg v Nice), we revisit some of the classic games from this stage of the iconic competition.

Dunkerque 2-4 PSG, 2025

The 2024/25 season was one for upsets and there were almost a couple more in the semi-finals. Ligue 2 BKT outfit USL Dunkerque, managed by now-former Nantes manager Luis Castro at the time, was working miracles. Just one game away from the final at the Stade de France, he would nonetheless have to beat the holders of the title, PSG in the semis.

It got off to a perfect start when Vincent Sasso gave them the lead in just the seventh minute, and when Muhannad Al-Saad doubled their advantage midway through the first half, Dunkerque were in dreamland. An upset was very much on the cards, but the key moment came just before half-time when Ousmane Dembélé halved the advantage.

The momentum had shifted and Marquinhos' goal upon the return from the dressing room only confirmed that. Désiré Doué then curled in a sumptuous curled effort just after the hour mark. PSG were ahead for the first time, and despite their lower-tier opposition pushing, they would not cede it, with Dembélé adding a fourth in injury time.

Les Parisiens would go on to retain their title, beating Stade de Reims in the final. Les Stadistes, themselves strong favourites in their semi-final clash against lower-tier AS Cannes, also had a scare but would go on to progress.

Calais 3-1 Bordeaux, 2000

This was one of the all-time great stories in the Coupe de France. Calais became the first ever amateur side to reach the final of the competition back in 2000. They knocked out some big names along the way but none bigger than the reigning Ligue 1 McDonald's Bordeaux, whom they beat in the semi-finals at the Stade Bollaert.

There wasn't a lot to shout about in the 90 minutes but that changed in extra time. Cédric Jandau gave Calais a shock lead, only for Christophe Sanchez to equalise soon after. But Bordeaux would not make their quality tell. Mathieu Millien allowed Les Nordistes to retake the lead and then Mickael Gerard made it three. Calais dared to dream and went all the way to the Coupe de France final.

Les Herbiers 2-0 Chambly, 2018

This was another endearing tale of a minnow club. Les Herbiers hailed from a town of just 16,000 inhabitants. Having knocked out Lens in the previous round on penalties, they came up against Chambly with a shot of making the final. Both were in the third division at the time and neither would have been expected to be just one step away from the final. The teams faced off at the Beaujoire and, at the time, it broke the attendance record for a match between two third division sides. Goals from Florian David and Ambroise Gboho gave Les Herbiers the win. PSG would go on to win in the final thanks to goals from Giovani Lo Celso and Edinson Cavani.

US Quevilly 2-1 Rennes, 2012

Another amateur club that would pull off a shock and make it all the way to the Stade de France. In the quarter-finals, they overcame Marseille, and their run had already drawn logical comparisons to the Calais run 12 years prior.

US Quevilly had to show incredible mental resilience in their semi-final, coming from behind to beat Rennes. Julien Féret had given Les Rennais the lead early on, but Quevilly would not buckle. Karim Herouat levelled the scores in the second half before, spectacularly, Anthony Laup took the minnows to Paris.

Cannes 1-2 Reims, 2025

This was the story of a fallen giant rising again. Cannes were once a top division side. It is the club of Zinédine Zidane, of Patrick Vieira and Arsene Wenger. But they had fallen on hard times. At least for a moment, they returned to centre stage. Damien Ott's side have excelled in the fourth-tier that season, narrowly missing out on promotion, and they almost made the Coupe de France final, too.

Hafiz Umar Ibrahim gave Reims the lead but then the veteran captain, Cheikh N'Doye levelled things up. Les Dragons were huffing and puffing but would not blow the door down. Instead, Teddy Teuma gave the visitors the lead once again and sent them on their way to the Stade de France, where they would lose to PSG.

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