France finally has its man. Zinedine Zidane was officially unveiled on Tuesday as head coach of the French national team, taking over Les Bleus more than a year after first sitting down with federation president Philippe Diallo to discuss the job.
The appointment ends 14 years under Didier Deschamps, who stepped away after guiding France to a fourth-place finish at the 2026 World Cup. Zidane, capped 108 times as a player and the scorer of two goals in the 1998 World Cup final, becomes the country's most decorated footballing son to take charge of the senior team.
According to reports confirmed by multiple outlets including France 24 and Goal.com, Zidane has signed a four-year contract that runs through the 2030 World Cup, giving the federation long-term continuity around a squad still built on the generation that reached three of the last four World Cup finals.
The move has been a long time coming. Deschamps told Diallo of his intention to step down back in January 2025, and Diallo held his first substantive talks with Zidane the following month. Further meetings over the ensuing months were needed to settle the details before Tuesday's announcement.
"I had offers during these five years, and I turned them all down for the French national team," Zidane said of his decision to hold out for the post rather than return to club management. "It was the only thing I wanted to do."
Diallo, unveiling his pick, called it "an exceptional moment" for French football. "We needed to find a solution to extend this golden generation," the federation president said, framing the appointment as a bridge between Deschamps' World Cup-winning era and the next cycle.
Zidane has not held a coaching role since leaving Real Madrid in 2021, but his managerial record remains one of the most striking in the modern game: three consecutive Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018, plus two La Liga crowns across his two spells at the Bernabéu.
Former teammate Laurent Blanc, who won the World Cup alongside Zidane in 1998, backed the appointment, noting his old captain's pedigree at both ends of the game. Karim Benzema, who played under Zidane at Real Madrid, said simply: "He is a legend and like an older brother. I am very happy."
Zidane is expected to be formally presented to the France squad and press in the coming days, with his first matches in charge likely to come once the new international window opens after the September 1 start date reported around his deal.
For a French federation eager to keep a talented core together beyond the Deschamps years, the symbolism of handing the reins to 1998's on-field hero is hard to miss — even if the scale of the task, replacing a World Cup and European Championship-winning coach, is just as real.
