Didier Deschamps to step down as France coach after 2026 World Cup

Deschamps took over as France head coach in 2012, winning the World Cup in 2018 and leading his country to two other major finals. 

France head coach Didier Deschamps will step down from the role when his contract expires after the 2026 World Cup. Picture: Adam Davy/PA Wire.

France head coach Didier Deschamps will step down from the role when his contract expires after the 2026 World Cup.

The 56-year-old took charge of the national team in 2012 and led Les Bleus to World Cup glory in 2018, becoming only the third man to win the tournament as both player and manager.

He told French TV channel TF1: "I've been here since 2012, I'm scheduled until 2026, the next World Cup, but it will stop there because it has to stop at some point."

The 1998 World Cup-winning captain added: "It could be (seen as) an announcement, even though I'm not here for that. I've done my time with the same desire, the same passion to keep the French team at the highest level, but 2026 is very good.

"To have been here already for as many years as I have, and to go until 2026, that will be 14 years so that will be a lot.

"We never want it to end when it's a beautiful thing, but we also have to know how to say stop, there is a life after. I don't know what it will be, but it will be very good too.

"Afterwards, the most important thing is that the French team remains at the top, as it has been for many years."

Deschamps took over the reins from former team-mate Laurent Blanc after Euro 2012 and has so far guided France to three major finals overall, finishing runners-up to Portugal on home soil at Euro 2016 and losing the 2022 World Cup final to Argentina in Qatar.