Annecy have an opportunity to reach the final of the Coupe de France for the first time in club history when they host Toulouse at Parc des Sports on Thursday. Last month, the Southeastern French side stunned the 10-time winners of this tournament, Marseille, eliminating them in a penalty shootout, while Les Violets were convincing 6-1 winners against Rodez, making the semi-finals for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign.
This club has been through its share of trials and tribulations, going from a fourth-tier side in 2019-20 to a coaching irregularities scandal in 2021, and now being two games away from what would no doubt be the greatest triumph in their history. Their run is even more remarkable given how much this team have struggled this season in the second tier of French football, winless in five successive domestic fixtures, losing 4-0 at Nimes on Saturday, putting them a mere four points above the relegation zone.
Should they pull off another upset on Thursday, Annecy would become the first team in Ligue 2 to make the final of this competition since Auxerre in 2015. Coming into this match, they are winless in their previous two league fixtures played at Parc des Sports but have not lost a home game in this competition since December 2019, when FC Chambly Oise defeated them 2-1.
By and large, it has been a solid campaign for Toulouse, who sit 13th in their first season back in Ligue 1 and with a chance to reach the Coupe de France final for only the second time. The first time they did it, their 58-year-old manager Philippe Montanier was not even born when Les Pitchouns defeated Angers 6-3 in what is still to this day the highest-scoring final in Coupe de France history.
Throughout this season’s tournament, they have been consistently sharp and prolific, notching three or more goals on three occasions while outscoring their opponents by a margin of 18-3. Their form away from home in Ligue 1, however, has been relatively poor all season, with Toulouse winning only three times, all against teams currently in or near the relegation zone (Angers, Auxerre and Strasbourg), while they have conceded three or more goals in five road matches, losing 3-1 at Brest on Saturday.
Toulouse have not lost to a Ligue 2 opponent in this competition since January 2008, when Paris FC beat them 2-1 in the third round. At the same time, Le Tef have had difficulty versus teams lower than them in the French league system, having been knocked out by Saint-Pryve FC, Rumilly Val and FC Versailles, respectively, over their previous three Coupe de France campaigns.
