Speculation has long surrounded Zinedine Zidane’s potential appointment as the head coach of the French national team following the 2026 World Cup. Didier Deschamps has already announced his departure after the tournament, regardless of the outcome.
With Les Bleus currently assembled and training for friendly matches this week against Brazil and Colombia (March 26 and 29), attention has once again turned to Zidane. Fresh reports are now shedding light on the imminent arrival of the football legend at the helm of the national squad.
Further fueling these rumors, the esteemed newspaper L’Équipe featured Zidane on its cover on March 24.
The speculation intensified when Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation, revealed in a Sunday interview with Le Figaro that he already knows the name of Deschamps’ successor. It’s widely presumed that the chosen candidate’s first and last names will both begin with the letter ‘Z’.
According to RMC Sport, Zidane is actively working towards this objective, reportedly assembling his coaching team. This team might include ‘loyalists’ from the 1998 French squad, such as former midfielder Alain Boghossian, now a media personality. Zidane is also said to be in regular consultation with 84-year-old Henri Emile, who coached the French team between 1980 and 2004.
If Zinedine Zidane is indeed named the new manager of the French national team, it would mark only his second managerial role at the top level. His previous experience includes two successful stints with Real Madrid, his last tenure concluding in 2021, and an earlier period managing Real Madrid Castilla.