Francken started out as a goalkeeper, but quickly became a forward. He made his international debut for the Netherlands on 29 April 1906 in a 5–0 away defeat to Belgium. He would go on to play 22 caps, scoring 17 goals, including a then national record of three hat-tricks, all of which against Belgium.[4] Remarkably, 12 of his international goals, including his three hat-tricks, came in friendly cup duels between Dutch and Belgians, a tally that makes him the all-time top scorer in the competition's history, however, if we include the four unofficial trophies between 1901 and 1904 then he shares this position with Herbert Potts of Belgium.[5] The final of these goals, against Belgium on 9 March 1913, made him the all-time top scorer for the Netherlands, a record he held for more than 20 years, until when on 3 November 1935, Beb Bakhuys of HBS Craeyenhout scored his 18th goal for the Netherlands national team. Nearly a century after his last match Francken, he is ranked 11th in the list of all-time top scorers.
Francken played his final match for the Netherlands in 1914. He moved to the Dutch East Indies in 1916. Francken died in 1948.