It’s a big name that’s about to bow out. Didier Deschamps, coach of the French men’s football team since 2014, confirmed on Wednesday January 8 to TF1 that he would not extend the adventure with the Blues after the 2026 World Cup (from June 11 to July 19, 2026). The former midfielder will leave an indelible mark and a shower of records.
With 165 matches on the Blues bench, Didier Deschamps is already the most capped coach in France, far ahead of Raymond Domenech, 79 matches between 2004 and 2010, and Michel Hidalgo, 75 matches between 1976 and 1984. Internationally , the native of Bayonne has also made a name for himself. Today, he is in third place among the coaches with the most matches behind the German Joachim Löw and the Uruguayan Oscar Tabarez, who managed their national team 198 and 184 matches respectively between 2006 and 2021. With the League of nations, the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and its final phase, the Frenchman has the opportunity to get closer to them.
In ten years at the head of the Blues, Didier Deschamps has also built a solid track record. In addition to the victory in the World Cup in 2018 then that in the Nations League in 2021, he guided the France team to the final at Euro 2016 then to the 2022 World Cup. In major competitions (Euro and World Cup), he is thus the second most prolific French coach with 61.1% of victories, behind Aimé Jacquet (66.7%). A statistic that he can further improve with the progress of the Blues during the 2026 World Cup co-organized by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Before, Didier Deschamps will have the opportunity to win a third title in the Nations League. The Blues face Croatia in the quarter-finals on March 20 and 23.
In detail, the former Marseille coach comes away with a very positive record with 105 matches won for 34 draws and 26 defeats. Compared to his predecessors, however, the Basque is far from having the most victories. With 63.6% success, he places himself in 4th position behind leader Jacques Santini and his 79.6%, but in much fewer matches (22 victories in 28 matches between 2002 and 2004).
Often perceived as a coach giving little chance to new players, Didier Deschamps is, in fact, the only technician to have used more than 100 players (115). Among them, 80 were started for the first time by the former Juventus player. It was notably during his era that Warren Zaire-Emery was called up for the French team for the first time, at 17 years and 255 days old, making him the youngest French international of all time.
Despite everything, Didier Deschamp often trusted the same players. Presented as the coach’s “darling”, Antoine Griezmann, who retired internationally on September 30, 2024, was the player most used by Didier Deschamps (137 matches), ahead of Olivier Giroud (128) and Hugo Lloris (108) .
