Francis Vial

Félix Vial (14 August 1894 – 25 January 1915) was a French footballer who played as a left winger for CA Vitry and the French national team in the early 1910s. Even though he had an ephemeral life, which ended at the hands of the First World War, he remains the youngest player in the history of the French national team, aged 17 years and 75 days.

Biography Vial played for CA Vitry during the 1911–12 season. On 17 October 1911, after only one championship match, the 17-year-old Vial was called up to the French national team for a friendly match against Luxembourg, being selected by the CFI as a last-minute replacement to Jules Verbrugge, who did not want to travel to Luxembourg, following a good performance in a trial match. Two days later, he took part in a match for his club against Red Star FC where he performances poorly again, thus failing to confirm "the choice of the CFI selection committee, showing himself to be much inferior to his colleagues".

Death Following the outbreak of the First World War in July 1914, Vial became a second-class private of the 161st regiment, being "killed by the enemy" during the First Battle of Champagne on 25 January 1915, at the age of 20, near Vienne-le-Château in Argonne (Marne). However, the weekly newspaper Sporting only reported his death a year later, in March 1916, stating that "the international F. Vial, of CA Vitry, died on the field of honor".