Didier Deschamps, the architect of France’s 2018 World Cup triumph, has announced his intention to step down as head coach of the French national team after the 2026 FIFA World Cup.  

Deschamps, who lifted the World Cup on home soil as a player in 1998, is the longest-serving coach in French national team history, having assumed the role in 2012.

He succeeded Laurent Blanc after France’s quarter-final exit at Euro 2012 and subsequently guided the team to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where they were eliminated by eventual champions Germany in the quarterfinals.  

Under Deschamps’ leadership, France reached the pinnacle of world football, winning the 2018 World Cup in Russia and reaching the final of both the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and Euro 2016 on home soil.

“At the helm of Les Bleus since 2012, the greatest manager in French national team history will bow out after the 2026 World Cup,” the French Football Federation (FFF) said in a statement.

The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the USA, Mexico, and Canada, will mark the end of Deschamps’ tenure despite his country and the rest from UEFA yet to start the qualifiers, unlike in the Comnebol and the CAF zones.  

Deschamps joins an exclusive club, becoming only the third man after Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer to win the World Cup as both a player and a manager. He captained his country to glory in the 1998 World Cup.  

The former defensive midfielder earned 103 caps for France, leading the team to victory at both the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.  

Two of those caps came against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana. In a friendly match in November 1997, Deschamps, as captain, led France to a 2-1 victory with goals from Stéphane Guivarc’h and Ibrahim Ba. Shaun Bartlett scored for Bafana Bafana.

In another memorable encounter, the opening match of the 1998 World Cup, France cruised to a 3-0 victory over South Africa in Marseille, with goals from Christophe Dugarry, Pierre Issa (own goal), and Thierry Henry