In office since 2012, the coach of the France team, according to our information, will not go beyond his current mandate. He will bow out after the 2026 World Cup.
Stop or still? Stop, in 2026. According to our information, Didier Deschamps will stop in 2026, after the World Cup organized in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Extended at the end of the 2022 World Cup, in January 2023 to be precise, the national coach will thus end what will be a 14-year mandate. Huge sequence marked by the 2018 world title in Russia, with also success in the 2021 Nations League and finals at Euro 2016 and the 2022 World Cup. Aged 56, Deschamps is the coach of all records, after being the first French captain to lift the World Cup, in 1998. 165 matches on the bench of the France team, 106 victories.
“DD” will make the news official this Wednesday on TF1during an interview with Brigitte Macron as part of Operation Yellow Pieces. According to our information, the French staff will not, however, fall off their chairs upon hearing the news, far from it, the former coach of Monaco, Juventus and OM having already let his decision leak out in private. Philippe Diallo will not be surprised either. The president of the French Football Federation (FFF) was indeed warned before the end of year holidays. It was agreed that the announcement would take place before the French team's next matches, on March 20 and 23, against Croatia, in the semi-finals of the League of Nations. So it will be done.
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The greatest coach in the history of the France team.
Philippe Diallo
Let us remember that the said Philippe Diallo sees in Didier Deschamps “the greatest coach in the history of the France team given his longevity and the results obtained”as was explained in September in the columns of Figaro. And to add, on the future of the coach: “Didier is under contract until 2026 so the question is not relevant today. The question of the moment, and I liked this word from Didier Deschamps, to re-oxygenate the team. (…) This reoxygenation is the desire of Didier Deschamps and I share it. I think he will use this League of Nations to prepare for our major objective, the 2026 World Cup. We are building the team so that the Blues can be there in the United States.”had hammered the successor of Noël Le Graët.
One thing is certain: this choice by Deschamps does not resemble a form of resignation, or a sign of depression or unease. The person concerned is more focused than ever on the upcoming events of the French team, the League of Nations, the qualifications for the 2026 World Cup and therefore the World Cup in America. Third star up for grabs?
IMAGO/Vincenzo Orlando/IPA Sport / ipa / PANORAMIC
After that, it will soon enough be time to think about his succession. With inevitably a name that will probably come back on everyone's lips, that of Zinédine Zidane. The former leader of the France team has never hidden his appetite for the position, he who has been free since his departure from Real Madrid in 2021. An eternity. Between his past as a (great) player and his three Champions League crowns at the head of Casa Blanca as coach, «ZZ» appears for the number 1 candidate to succeed his former teammate. In fact, isn't he the only candidate?
If Didier Deschamps will make this announcement this Wednesday, it is in any case for the sake of clarity, because he does not want his personal case to pollute the news of the France team when it is time to reinvest the Château . Everything is clear in his head. And it will be just as quickly for the rest of the football world. With an announcement that will continue to be commented on. A bolt from the blue for some. A form of logic for others. “I don’t feel any wear and tear. If I could be ten years older than what I'm experiencing today, that would be ideal. Because it’s the very, very high level, that’s everything I like. I know very well that it will end one day, it could have been the case in 2013, 2016 or even last summer”said Deschamps for Le Figaroat the end of 2021. It will be in the summer of 2026. To see if the Basque technician will end his career or if he will return to club football. Suspense.
End point in New York?
If the Blues qualify for the 2026 World Cup (Deschamps' only concern at the moment after the Nations League), it should be noted that this will not be the first time that “DD” will start a major international competition at the end of his contract. This was already the case in 2022. At the time, “NLG” made things clear during the competition in our columns: “I always said that if he reached (the semi-finals in Qatar), the decision was his. My wish is that Didier stays. Who do you want to find better? It's the president who speaks, not the friend. Semi-final objective, he comes to my office and it’s up to him to decide whether to stay or not”. The rest, we know: Kylian Mbappé and his comrades reached the final, only beaten on penalties by Argentina (3-3 ap, 2-4 tab), and Deschamps came back.
This time, that won't be the case. But Deschamps, still attached to the Blues, has already demonstrated his ability to hold the group together and carry out his mission successfully in these conditions. In the meantime, a big page for the France team will be turned in 2026. If possible, July 19, the day of the final, at MetLife Stadium in New York.
