France’s football coach, Didier Deschamps, has announced he will step down after the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Deschamps, who has been leading the French national team since 2012, shared his decision during an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on Wednesday.
“It will be 2026,” he said. “I have been there since 2012. It is planned that I will be there until 2026… the next World Cup.
“It will end there because it has to end at some point. It’s clear in my mind. I have done my time, with the same desire, the same passion to keep the France team at the highest level, but 2026 is good.”
Deschamps has had an illustrious career with the French team. He led them to victory at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and took them to the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, where they lost to Argentina on penalties in a dramatic match.
As a player, Deschamps captained the French team to their first-ever World Cup triumph in 1998, defeating Brazil 3-0 in the final held in France.
At 56, he is one of only three individuals to win the World Cup both as a player and a coach. The other two, Mario Zagallo of Brazil and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer, passed away last year.
Deschamps’ legacy as a coach and player has made him a prominent figure in world football, and his departure in 2026 will mark the end of an era for the French national team.
