Thunderclap among the Blues: Didier Deschamps has decided to leave his position at the head of the France team at the end of his contract in 2026, AFP learned from a source close to the selection, putting an end to a long tenure that began in 2012 and was marked by the 2018 world title.
According to several media, Deschamps should formalize his decision during a cross-interview with Brigitte Macron broadcast in the 1 p.m. news on TF1 on Wednesday as part of the “Pièces Jaunes” operation.
The departure in 2026 of the 56-year-old technician, who succeeded Laurent Blanc after Euro-2012, will sound like the end of an era, as he has become inseparable from the Blues over the years. The most glorious chapter in the history of the Tricolores will thus close. In more than twelve years, Deschamps has built an extraordinary track record by winning the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the Nations League in 2021, while reaching the finals of Euro 2016 and the 2022 World Cup. .
But the last two years have been very complicated for the former world (1998) and European (2000) champion captain. His long extension for four years just after the World Cup final in Qatar lost to Argentina aroused much criticism at the time. Then it was the debates around the dull and unspectacular play deployed by the French during Euro-2024 in Germany which caused a certain disenchantment among supporters, despite reaching the semi-finals.
And now for Zidane?
Since the European tournament, the worries have only increased for the coach with the setbacks of his captain Kylian Mbappé, absent from the October and November gatherings, and the surprise announcement of the international retirement of Antoine Griezmann , formerly considered Deschamps’ “darling” but gradually being downgraded.
The qualification for the quarter-finals of the League of Nations after a convincing success in Italy (3-1) in November, however, chased away the clouds somewhat and Deschamps had the skill to open his group to new young players to to launch an attack on its ultimate objectives.
France will thus be opposed to Croatia, on March 20 and 23, to try to find a place in the “Final Four” of the League of Nations scheduled for June before continuing with the qualifications for the next World Cup in United States, Canada and Mexico where the coach will attempt the feat of embroidering a third star on the blue jersey.
The prospect of the end of the Deschamps era will now open the way to speculation about the identity of his successor. All eyes inevitably converge on Zinédine Zidane, the icon of French football and three-time winner of the Champions League on the Real Madrid bench. Zizou has never hidden his desire to one day manage the Blues and has been patiently biding his time since the end of his second adventure with the Merengue in 2021. He has never been closer to reaching the goal.
