Zinedine Zidane will succeed Didier Deschamps as France national team head coach in the summer, with a verbal agreement already reached between the former Real Madrid star and the Fédération Française de Football (FFF), sources have told ESPN.
Didier Deschamps departing from the France national team after 14 successful years has been the worst kept secret in French football and Zidane, who finished his second stint as Los Blancos manager in 2021, has been long destined for the role.
At 53, Zidane had been waiting for his fellow 1998 World Cup winner to leave in order for him to take the job.
He has had to wait longer than he first thought he would but he will officially be appointed once the 2026 World Cup is concluded for France.
The last detail to iron out before he can sign his contract is over his staff and how big his team can be.
In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro published on Sunday, the head of the FFF, Philippe Diallo admitted for the first time that he knew who Deschamp’s successor was going to be.
“I know who it is” was his answer. He didn’t reveal Zidane’s name but sources have told ESPN that it will be him.
Kylian Mbappé claims a “some false things have been said” about the knee injury that restricted his involvement for Real Madrid in recent weeks.
The France striker has come off the bench in Madrid’s last two fixtures — including Sunday’s come-from-behind win over Atleti — following three-and-a-half weeks out with a sprained left knee, which has caused him trouble since the end of last year.
However, at a promotional event in France, Mbappé told AS “My knee is fine. It’s getting better.
“It’s going quite well, and I know there’s been a lot of speculation about it and some false things have been said.
“It’s the life of a top athlete, and we’re used to people saying things without verifying them or having any basis in fact.”
When Madrid confirmed Mbappé had re-aggravated a knee injury from December at the beginning of March, the club said it was opting for a conservative approach to the treatment.
The 2018 World Cup winner is in the France squad for a pair of friendlies at the end of March in the United States against Brazil on March 26 and then Colombia on March 29.
The win over Atleti kept Madrid four points behind leaders Barcelona in LaLiga, with Alphonso Arbeloa’s side also preparing for a Champions League quarterfinal tie with Bayern Munich in the coming weeks.–ESPN
