Zinedine Zidane Takes Over as France National Team Coach
Zinedine Zidane is back where many always believed he would end up: at the helm of France. The French Football Federation confirmed on Tuesday, via a post on X, that the former midfield maestro will take over as national team head coach.
The move ends years of speculation and arrives just two weeks after the curtain fell on Didier Deschamps’ long reign. Deschamps’ final act was a chaotic 6-4 defeat to England, a wild scoreline that underlined how abruptly a 14-year chapter had closed.
Deschamps Era Ends, A Giant Leaves
Deschamps walks away with a record that will sit in French football history for decades. Across 185 matches, he collected 120 victories and a cabinet full of major honours: the 2018 World Cup, the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League, and runs to the Euro 2016 and 2022 World Cup finals.
He did not just manage France. He reshaped it. From the pain of Euro 2016 on home soil to the summit in Moscow in 2018, Deschamps built a hardened, tournament-savvy side that became the benchmark for international consistency.
Now that stability passes into the hands of a man who once defined French flair.
Zidane Steps Into the Spotlight
Zidane, 54, has waited for this moment. After glittering years in charge of Real Madrid, where he proved he could translate genius on the pitch into authority on the touchline, the call from his country always felt inevitable.
His tenure will begin away from home, with a UEFA Nations League trip to Turkiye. Then comes a first night under the Paris lights: France hosting Italy at the Stade de France on October 2. Two fixtures, two tests of temperament, and an early glimpse of what a Zidane France might look like.
Will he lean into the attacking artistry that defined his playing days, or will he preserve the ruthless efficiency that Deschamps drilled into this squad? The answer will start to emerge the moment the whistle blows in Turkiye.
From 1998 Heroes to a New Blueprint
There is a symmetry to this succession. Deschamps and Zidane were not just colleagues; they were central pillars of the 1998 World Cup-winning team on home soil. Deschamps, the relentless captain. Zidane, the artist who illuminated the final and then collected the Ballon d’Or that same year.
They built their reputations side by side. Now one hands the keys to the other.
Zidane arrives with the weight of history on his shoulders and the expectation that he can fuse generations: honour the resilience of the Deschamps era while unleashing the full attacking potential of a talent-stacked squad.
The stage is set, the handover complete. France have turned the page, and with Zidane back at the heart of the story, the question is no longer whether he would lead his country—only how far he can take them.
