Zidane's France era is finally here

The end of the Deschamps era

Say what you want about the style, the pragmatism, the occasional grimace on the touchline — Didier Deschamps delivered. A World Cup in 2018. A Euro final in 2021. A World Cup final in 2022. A semi-final exit in 2026 is, by any rational measure, a decent return. But international football doesn't always deal in rational measures, and France going out before the final — again — was enough for Deschamps to draw the line himself.

His resignation lands with the weight you'd expect from a man who has managed his country for over a decade. He leaves with more goodwill than most coaches get, and probably more than he'll receive in the immediate aftermath.

The appointment everyone has been waiting for

Zidane's name has circled the France job for years — through Deschamps' renewals, through his own sabbatical after leaving Real Madrid, through every tournament where the question resurfaced. According to Foot Mercato, the wait is nearly over. The report uses 'devrait', which means the appointment is expected rather than confirmed, so the paperwork hasn't landed yet. But the direction of travel looks clear.

The French football world has essentially been pre-loading this reaction for half a decade. Zidane as France manager isn't a surprise — it's a conclusion.

What Petit's verdict tells us

Emmanuel Petit weighing in matters here. He was in the dressing room in Saint-Denis in 1998 when Zidane scored twice in the final and Petit added the third. He knows both men, knows what the France job demands, and his read on the appointment carries the kind of authority that comes from having lived it.

Foot Mercato reports Petit has offered his assessment of Zidane's expected arrival, though the full texture of his verdict — whether he sees it as the obvious right call or flags complications — sits behind the original French-language piece. What's clear is that a man of Petit's standing engaging with the question at all tells you how seriously the French football community is taking this moment.

Zidane has never managed at international level. That's the one gap on a CV that otherwise reads like a coaching fairy tale — three consecutive Champions League titles with Real Madrid. The step from club football, where you control everything from the training ground to the squad, to the international game, where you get your players for ten days at a time, is a genuine adjustment. Petit would know that better than most.

The French football world has been rehearsing this handover for so long that the actual confirmation — when it comes — might feel almost anticlimactic. Almost.