As expected, Didier Deschamps’ successor as head coach of the French national team is Zinedine Zidane. This is his first stint as a national team coach.
It had been more or less an open secret for years that there was really only one candidate to succeed Didier Deschamps. Following the World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, the matter is now finally settled: Zinedine Zidane will be the new head coach of the French national team. On Tuesday morning, the French Football Federation officially introduced Zidane. “There’s nothing bigger than the French national team,” the new man on the sidelines is quoted as saying.
Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation, had already announced in an interview with Le Figaro at the end of March that Deschamps’ successor had been decided, though he declined to name the person. However, Diallo said, in essence, that it had to be someone with whom the French could strongly identify.
Even back then, all signs pointed to Zidane: The 54-year-old has 108 international appearances (31 goals) to his credit, won the World Cup with the Equipe Tricolore in 1998 on home soil, and two years later—with Deschamps by his side both times—also won the European Championship. In his home country, the three-time World Player of the Year is considered a living legend.
Zidane has proven his abilities as a coach at Real Madrid. The former star midfielder for Los Blancos initially coached the reserve team and was promoted to head coach following Rafael Benítez’s dismissal in January 2016. Under Zidane, Real won the Champions League three times in a row; after their last triumph in 2018, he surprisingly stepped down. But as early as March 2019, the Frenchman returned to the head coaching position and won the Spanish league title in 2020. After the subsequent title-less season, Zidane stepped down once again. Since then, he has not appeared in any coaching role.
Deschamps Says Goodbye After 14 Years
By succeeding Deschamps, Zidane has big shoes to fill. The 57-year-old took over the position in 2012 and led “Les Bleus” to the 2018 World Cup title. Four years later, France narrowly failed to defend its title, losing the final against Argentina 2–4 in a penalty shootout. Deschamps had already announced in January 2025 that the 2026 World Cup would be his last tournament. He bids farewell to the big stage for now with a 4–6 loss to England in the third-place match.
Zidane’s first competitive matches in his new role will take place in late September in the Nations League against Turkey and Belgium. In early October—in his first two home games at the Stade de France—France will face Italy and Belgium again.