May 22, 2026 will forever remain etched in the memory of Lens supporters. At the end of a high-intensity final played in front of a Stade de France electrified by some 50,000 Blood and Gold fans, RC Lens lifted the Coupe de France for the very first time in its 120-year history, defeating OGC Nice 3-1.

A match controlled from start to finish

From the opening moments of the match, Lens displayed impressive collective control. It was Florian Thauvin who opened the scoring in the 25th minute, driving the ball in with his left foot from the edge of the box after an excellent pass from Matthieu Udol. A goal that set an already boiling Lens stand alight.

Ten minutes later, a precise corner from the same Thauvin found the head of Odsonne Édouard, whose header took a deflection before beating Maxime Dupé: 2-0. The Artésiens seemed to be on their way to a calm and controlled coronation.

But just before the break, young Djibril Coulibaly, only 17 years old, revived Nice's hopes with a superb header from a Jonathan Clauss corner, bringing the score back to 2-1 (45+3). That goal briefly raised the tension in the Lens ranks.

Sima seals the triumph, Lens enters history

The second half was more contested. Nice's Aiglons pushed for an equalizer and came close in the 65th minute, when Antoine Mendy saw his header crash against the crossbar. Fate seemed to be smiling on Lens.

In the 78th minute, Abdallah Sima took advantage of a poor clearance from Dante, seized the ball and fired past the Nice goalkeeper: 3-1. Final score. Florian Thauvin, after an exceptional performance, was logically named man of the match.

“This is heaven on earth. We waited 120 years for this. Tonight, we are immortal” — a Lens supporter after the final whistle.

Joy at Bollaert, a night of madness

While the celebration first erupted in the stands of the Stade de France, it was in Lens, at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, that it reached its peak. After a bus journey of more than two hours, the players arrived at around 4 a.m., welcomed by some 15,000 supporters gathered despite the late hour, with blood-and-gold flags waving in the night.

The next day, a parade through the streets of Lens brought together tens of thousands of people. The players paraded in a farm trailer decorated in the club's colors, accompanied by the slogan that went viral: “On les a chicotés” — a nod to a Lens tradition born during the 1998 French championship title, when the players had already paraded in a trailer pulled by a tractor.

The trophy will soon be displayed at the Musée du Louvre-Lens, a living testament to a moment that has entered the history of French football.

A club and a region united in passion

RC Lens' victory goes far beyond sport alone. It symbolizes the pride of a redeveloped mining basin, of a working-class city that has managed to build a club with national influence. After three lost finals (1948 against Lille, 1975 against Saint-Étienne, 1998 against PSG), the Blood and Gold had never managed to win this popular trophy.

In 2026, after their return to Ligue 1 and an impressive season, RC Lens rewrites its history. This Coupe de France triumph, the club's first major title, potentially opens the door to Europe next season and rewards the work of a united squad guided by an ambitious sporting project.

For supporters, young and old, that night of May 22, 2026 is one they will be able to tell their children about: “I was there.”