2026, everyone comes down! Well, no, Didier Comes Down. What was still just a rumor late Tuesday afternoon became quite real this Wednesday morning. Yes, this time it's true, Didier Deschamps has decided to hand over the reins of his French team at the end of the next World Cup in the United States. And it was to TF1 that the coach of the Blues, European champion and double world champion, chose to offer the scoop.
In an interview given as part of the launch of the Yellow Pieces operation and which will be broadcast in the TF1 news on Wednesday, and of which LCI has already published a first extract exclusively, DD says stop after twelve years of good and loyal service at the head of the French team.
“I’m not here to make an announcement but it will be 2026,” says the boss of the Blues with a smile, alongside first lady Brigitte Macron. I've been here since 2012, I'm scheduled until 2026, the next World Cup. It will stop there because it has to stop there at some point. In my head, it's very clear. » “Well, that’s an announcement!” », then retorts the journalist, lucid about the media impact that this decision will cause.
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“We never want it to end”
“I served my time with the same desire, the same passion to maintain the French team at the highest level, but 2026 is very good. We never want it to end when it’s a beautiful thing. Afterwards, you have to know how to say stop. There is life after. I don't know what it will be but it will be very good too. It's been fourteen years, that's a long time too. »
If he never ceased to assure that he was impervious to criticism, whether it was media or popular, that it was simply part of the job, The Team believes that those, numerous, received by the Blues this summer at the Euro and more recently during the last two gatherings, have finally convinced him that the time has come.
And when the journalist asks him about his record longevity at the head of the selection, true to himself and most sincerely, he responds by placing the interests of the team above all other considerations. “I’m not here for the records, especially for the demands,” points out the coach. The most important thing is that the French team remains at the top where it has been for many years. »
Zidane in the starting blocks
By resolving this issue well in advance, Deschamps automatically lightens the atmosphere around his group, which will now only have one objective. Or rather two: that of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and, while at it, of winning it. This would make the former OM coach the only person in the world to have won two World Cups as a coach. He who has always been praised for his ability to build groups united behind him will have plenty of time to see if his boys do him well.
A year and a half is the time Zinédine Zidane has left to prepare to take over. Because if nothing will be official for a while, we don't see how the story could be otherwise. By then, the Blues will already have to go for a second Nations League this year, and it starts in March, with the quarter-final against Croatia. It will then be time to properly prepare for your exit.
