Didier Deschamps to leave France job: Who could replace 56-year-old after 2026 World Cup?

Reports emerged on Tuesday evening that the 56-year-old would be announcing his imminent departure in a televised interview on Wednesday, and he revealed to TF1 that he would be ending his golden spell in charge next year.

Deschamps led Les Bleus to their second World Cup title in 2018, twenty years on from winning the competition as a player at the 1998 edition, making him only the third man in history to clinch the World Cup trophy as both a player and manager after the late Franz Beckenbauer and Mario Zagallo.

The former midfielder - who has been in charge of Les Bleus since 2012 - also led France to UEFA Nations League glory in 2021, two years before they suffered an excruciating penalty-shootout loss to Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final.

Despite that heartbreak in Qatar, Deschamps signed a contract extension with the French Football Federation until the end of the 2026 World Cup, before his side lost to eventual winners Spain in the semi-finals of Euro 2024.

Deschamps: 'France stint will end because it has to end'

"I've been here since 2012 and will remain until 2026 and the next World Cup. But it will end there because it has to. In my mind, it's clear. 2026, it's fine," Deschamps told TF1, as quoted by Get French Football News.

"You never want something good to end, but you have to know when to stop. There is a life after this, I don't know which one, but it will be very good still. Fourteen years is a lot. The most important is for France to remain on top like it is for several years."

Previously in charge of Monaco, Juventus and Marseille - winning the Ligue 1 title with the latter in the 2009-10 season - Deschamps succeeded Laurent Blanc as France boss after Euro 2012 and reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup in his first major tournament.

The 56-year-old then masterminded France's run to the Euro 2016 final, where they were defeated 1-0 by Portugal, before Les Bleus conquered Russia at the 2018 World Cup with an enthralling 4-2 win over Croatia in the showpiece match.

Deschamps has won 105 of his 165 matches in charge of France, who return to action in March when they meet Croatia in a two-legged Nations League quarter-final, having topped League A Group 2 ahead of Italy, Belgium and Israel.

Who could replace Deschamps as France manager?

Following confirmation of Deschamps's departure, the red carpet will surely be rolled out for Zinedine Zidane to finally fulfil his dream of managing his country.

The former Real Madrid head coach has not taken the reins of any team since leaving Los Blancos for the second time in 2021, although he is not thought to have been short of offers to return to management.

Zidane was heavily linked with the Manchester United job a couple of years back, in addition to German giants Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, but he has been biding his time and refusing to rush back into management.

Zidane is not the only high-profile unattached head coach at present; Erik ten Hag, Xavi, Edin Terzic, Massimiliano Allegri are all out of work, but not since the Romanian Stefan Kovacs in 1975 have France had a foreign manager.

Zidane has had no problem waiting this long for the call from the FFF, so the ex-Real boss should only be too happy to sit tight for another 18 months before inheriting the Deschamps throne.

Written by

Ben Knapton