Zinedine Zidane is close to taking over a job and reports are all stating he has reached a verbal agreement to take over the France national football team job after the 2026 World Cup:
The structure is a straightforward one: he replaces Didier Deschamps post the world cup and nothing before, nothing during. After.
That in itself sets one fact straight, this isn’t an interim role for the summer, but a transition to a new era of football.
Zinedine Zidane has had very few jobs as a manager: 1 major one – Real Madrid.
What he achieved there is exactly the reason this deal is being talked about:
3 x UEFA Champions Leagues (in a row)
2 x La Liga title
Multiple other domestic/international trophies
He stepped away from the role in 2021, rejecting countless offers from clubs, not because he cannot coach, but because he was waiting, everyone in football knew who he was waiting for, France.
Can he replicate his club successes onto the world stage? There’s no certainty at all, some great club coaches have found life with national teams to be very difficult but Zidane hasn’t yet been tested at this level:
