Zinedine Zidane Returns to France as Head Coach
The wait is almost over. The French Football Federation has circled a date on the calendar, and with it, opened the door for Zinedine Zidane’s return to the touchline after five years in the shadows.
In an official statement on Thursday, the federation confirmed it will hold a press conference on Tuesday 28 July 2026 at its headquarters, starting at 11am, with president Philippe Diallo in attendance. The event follows an extraordinary meeting of the executive committee earlier that day, during which the new head coach of Les Bleus will be formally approved and presented to the media.
Didier Deschamps steps aside after 14 years in charge. No farewell ceremony. No lap of honour. Just a clean break and a hard pivot toward what comes next.
Reliable French outlets have already drawn the same conclusion: that “next” is Zidane.
Deschamps Era Ends, Zidane Steps In
The timing of the announcement matched what local newspapers had revealed on Wednesday evening, and the choreography around the press conference leaves little room for doubt about the scale of the change.
Deschamps, the man who delivered the 2018 World Cup and reached multiple major finals, walks away without the fanfare his record might suggest. The federation has opted against a public goodbye, preferring instead to turn the spotlight directly onto his successor.
That successor, all signs point, is the man who once defined French football on the pitch.
Zidane has been the leading candidate to take over from Deschamps for years, his name shadowing every debate about the national team’s future. The pair were teammates in the 1998 World Cup-winning side; now, one hands the reins to the other. According to reports, Zidane has already reached an agreement with the federation, with only the final touches to his backroom staff left to be settled before he officially begins.
Five Years Away, One Job in Mind
Zidane has not coached since leaving Real Madrid in June 2021. That exit did not signal a retreat from ambition, but a sharpening of it.
He turned down multiple offers in club and international football, waiting for one post. France. The job that has followed him in every interview, every rumour, every vacancy elsewhere.
French parliament recently passed reforms on salary caps, a move that could have complicated any high-profile appointment. Not this one. Zidane has secured a special exemption from the relevant government authorities, clearing the final bureaucratic hurdle before he steps into the role.
He returns not as the romantic choice, but as the inevitable one.
A Brutal Introduction: Turkey, Belgium, Italy
There will be no gentle warm-up. No time to ease into the tracksuit.
Zidane’s first international window, stretching from late September into October, reads more like a knockout bracket than a settling-in period. His reign is set to begin on 25 September with a trip to Turkey, a fixture that rarely offers calm atmospheres or quiet evenings.
Three days later, on 28 September, France travel to Belgium. A neighbour, a rival, a side loaded with talent and still chasing its own defining moment. For a new coach, it is a sharp early test of ideas, selection, and authority.
Then comes the one that drips with symbolism. On 2 October, Zidane is due to take charge of his first match at the Stade de France, against Italy. The opponent that framed some of the most dramatic chapters of his playing career, and the country where he spent five formative years at Juventus.
The narrative might not stop there. Deschamps has been linked in the press with the Italy job following his departure from France. If those reports become reality, future meetings between the two nations will carry an extra layer of intrigue: the former France coach in one dugout, the new era’s figurehead in the other.
Nations League Gauntlet
The UEFA Nations League schedule under Zidane offers no let-up.
After the opening trio of matches, France meet Belgium again, this time at home, on 5 October. Another high-level contest, another chance to measure Zidane’s France against one of Europe’s most gifted squads.
On 12 November, Les Bleus travel to Italy, potentially deep into a group campaign that will already have revealed plenty about Zidane’s tactical imprint and his handling of a squad packed with stars and expectations.
They close the group stage by hosting Turkey on 15 November, a fixture that could carry heavy weight in terms of standings, mood, and momentum.
France’s planned Nations League fixtures under Zidane:
- Turkey v France, 25 September
- Belgium v France, 28 September
- France v Italy, 2 October
- France v Belgium, 5 October
- Italy v France, 12 November
- France v Turkey, 15 November
No gentle landing, no hiding place. Zidane steps back into coaching with a national team under a global microscope, a fanbase hungry for another peak, and a calendar that will reveal quickly whether this long-awaited reunion can match the legend attached to his name.
