The French Football Federation announced on Thursday that it will host a press briefing on July 28 to introduce the successor for the national team manager position. While the governing body did not explicitly mention him, Zinedine Zidane is widely considered the top choice to take over from Didier Deschamps.
Zidane, 54, has been positioned as the primary successor for some time. His potential appointment marks the conclusion of Deschamps’ leadership, which started in 2012 and wrapped up this past Saturday following the team’s fourth-place result at the 2026 World Cup.
Although Zidane has been without a managerial post since departing Real Madrid five years ago, he has consistently expressed his desire to lead the national side. A former standout player for France and winner of the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship, he famously guided Real Madrid to three straight Champions League trophies between 2016 and 2018. If hired, he would join fellow former teammates Laurent Blanc and Deschamps in transitioning from star players to national team coaches.
