Zinedine Zidane has officially stepped into his new role as head coach of the French national football team this week, holding his first working sessions with players and staff after years of waiting for the job he once called a dream. The former World Cup winner and Real Madrid manager began his duties on September 1, taking over from Didier Deschamps, who stepped down after France finished fourth at the 2026 World Cup earlier this summer.
Zidane signed a four year contract that runs through the next World Cup in 2030, giving him a long runway to build his own version of the national team. His appointment ends months of speculation that stretched back well over a year, during which Zidane repeatedly said coaching France would be the only job he wanted after leaving football management following his second stint at Real Madrid in 2021. Speaking after his appointment was confirmed in July, Zidane described the moment as an immense joy and said he was ready for the challenge ahead.
The new coach inherits a talented squad built around stars such as Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele, and Desire Doue, giving him strong attacking options as he begins shaping his approach. Zidane becomes the seventeenth head coach in the history of Les Bleus and the third member of France’s celebrated 1998 World Cup winning squad to take charge of the national team, following Laurent Blanc and Deschamps before him.
Deschamps leaves behind a substantial legacy after fourteen years in charge, the longest tenure of any coach in the team’s history. During his time, he guided France to the 2018 World Cup title, a Nations League trophy, and two additional World Cup final appearances, including a runner up finish in 2022. His final match in charge ended in defeat to England in the third place playoff at this year’s World Cup, closing out a tenure that included 185 matches and 120 victories.
Zidane’s first official assignment as coach comes later this month, when France opens a new Nations League campaign with an away match against Turkiye, followed by a home fixture against Italy at the Stade de France in early October. Those matches will offer the first real look at how Zidane intends to set up his squad and what changes, if any, he plans to make to the tactical approach used under his predecessor.
French football officials have expressed strong confidence in the appointment, describing it as an exceptional moment for the federation. Federation president Philippe Diallo has spoken about the symbolic weight of bringing back one of the sport’s most celebrated figures to lead the national team, noting Zidane’s deep connection to the squad both as a player and as someone who has followed the sport closely from the sidelines during his years away from coaching.
For Zidane personally, the appointment marks a full circle moment in a career that began playing for France’s youth teams decades ago and reached its peak with the iconic 1998 World Cup victory on home soil, where he scored twice in the final and later won the Ballon d’Or. His playing career included a dramatic exit from international football during the 2006 World Cup final, a moment many fans hope his return to the touchline can help balance in the years ahead.
As Zidane settles into his new office at the French Football Federation headquarters in Paris, attention now turns to how quickly he can put his own stamp on a team already stocked with elite talent, with the ultimate goal of delivering major silverware before his contract concludes at the 2030 World Cup.
