Didier Deschamps: ‘Mbappé knows that when he speaks, he speaks for all the players’

Questioned in France but championed from afar, the departing head coach has forged a legacy that no one – bar, perhaps, himself – would dare dispute

France's head coach Didier Deschamps delivers a press conference in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines. Pic: FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images.

Follow the verdant path towards the Château de Clairefontaine and you are met by a three-metre replica of the World Cup trophy accompanied by two stars, representing France’s World Cup triumphs. Didier Deschamps had his hand in both of them, captaining his side to victory in 1998 before repeating the feat as manager in 2018.

The ‘98 World Cup final was France’s first ever but Les Bleus have now participated in four of the last seven end games, with Deschamps involved in three of them. In North America, he will have one final shot at reaching another. These are the expectations, moulded by past success. Deschamps has taken France to three major finals in his 14-year stint as manager. “We’re among the favourites,” he says as he sits down for the interview. “It isn’t a taboo word for me. If we have this status today, which seems logical and legitimate to me, it’s because of everything that we have done, the results we achieved.”