Zidane is finally taking the France job — and he starts in September
Zinedine Zidane has agreed to succeed Didier Deschamps as France head coach after the 2026 World Cup. He takes over on 1 September, with Euro 2028 his first big test.
People have whispered about it for eight months, and now it is done: Zinedine Zidane will be the next France head coach. The deal is agreed, the paperwork gets signed this month, and the former midfield genius takes charge on 1 September, once Didier Deschamps steps aside.
Deschamps had said long before a ball was kicked in the United States that the 2026 World Cup would be his last stop in the France dugout. He kept his word — France lost the bronze-medal match to England in a wild 6-4 — and now hands Europe’s most gifted squad to the man who always wanted it.
When does Zidane start?
On 1 September 2026, with qualifying already under way. According to the French press, Zidane turned down everything else these past months because he had only one job in mind: this one. His first major tournament on the bench will be Euro 2028.
Why did the change take so long?
Because Deschamps did not walk away early. He was the longest-serving coach in French football history, won the 2018 World Cup and reached the 2022 final, and chose to leave on a high, at the end of a cycle, not halfway through one. Zidane waited — and the French Football Federation confirms the transition timeline on its official site.
Which leaves the question every fan asks: will one of the greatest players ever also be a great international manager? At Real Madrid he already proved he wins. Now he has all the stars at his disposal and a whole country watching.
By Vasco Almada
Image: Oleg Dubyna from Poltava, Ukraine / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
