Didier Deschamps will step down as France coach after the 2026 World Cup, closing a great era in the nation’s football history.
Deschamps took over in 2012 after the resignation of Laurent Blanc and led them to victory in the 2018 World Cup, also reaching the final in 2022 and the 2016 European Championship.
The 56-year-old will leave before the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico if he fails to qualify, and afterward if he does.
“I’m not here to make an announcement, but it will be 2026. 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,” he says in an excerpt from an interview with TF1 and LCI, which will be published in full on Wednesday afternoon.
‘I did my stage with the same desire, the same passion to keep the French team at the highest level.
‘We never want this to end when it is something beautiful. Then we have to know how to say enough is enough. There is life after. I don’t know what it will be but it will be very good too. It’s going to be 14 years, that’s a long time too.
Didier Deschamps will leave France in 2026, as announced in an interview published today
He led France to the 2018 World Cup trophy and has also reached two other major finals.
Despite his success, he has not always been universally loved by fans who believe he could have made more use of France’s attacking talents.
‘I’m not here for the records, especially the lawsuits. “The most important thing is that the French team remains at the top where it has been for many years.”
Zinedine Zidane is the big favorite to replace him, according to ESPN. He was a teammate of Deschamps in their 1998 World Cup triumph and led Real Madrid to three consecutive Champions League titles as coach between 2016 and 2018. Zidane has been out of work since ending his second spell at the club. Madrid bench in 2021.
Despite being arguably the most successful manager of all time, Deschamps has not been universally loved by Les Bleus fans due to his conservative playing style.
However, his tournament success and 64.2 percent win rate place him in the pantheon of great international coaches.
They have reached the semi-finals of four of the six major tournaments he has overseen and could have won the 2022 World Cup if not for the brilliance of Lionel Messi.
He is only the third man to win the World Cup as a player and coach after Mario Zagallo, Pelé’s former teammate and Brazil coach, and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer.
L’Equipe reports that Deschamps made a decision several months ago and his contract expires in 2026.
For a man with such a gilded trophy cabinet, Deschamps cuts a relatively low-key figure and is rarely talked about on the same level as other top coaches.
Zinedine Zidane is the “big favorite” to replace the 56-year-old coach
He will leave after the 2026 World Cup, or before if France fails to qualify for the tournament.
Hugo Lloris, who captained France under him, described him as an “inspiration to the players”
He managed Monaco, Juventus and Marseille before taking the France job and was successful with all three.
One of his greatest achievements was leading Monaco to the 2003-04 Champions League final with a counter-attacking style, helping players such as Patrice Evra and Emmanuel Adebayor make a name for themselves.
In 2006 he took over the former Juventus, which had been relegated to Serie B following the Calciopoli scandal, and led them back to the top flight in his only season in charge.
He then took over Marseille, another of his former clubs where he had won the Champions League as a player, and delivered the Ligue 1 championship in 2009-10, the only time they had won it since 1995.
France have occasionally been associated with self-combustion in high-profile tournaments, crashing out of the group stages at the 2002 and 2010 World Cups, but they have at least reached the knockout stages in all competitions.
Hugo Lloris was captain of the French team under Deschamps and said of his boss: “He has, of course, tremendous experience as a player and coach at international level.
“He is calm and serene and he transmits that to the players.
‘He is an inspiration for the players. “We have a great relationship between players and coach and it is no coincidence that he has been a coach for so long.”