Zinedine Zidane is France’s new head coach. The Fédération Française de Football confirmed the appointment at a press conference in Paris on Tuesday, ending five years in which the most decorated club manager of his generation had no job at all.
Philippe Diallo, the FFF president, presented Zidane to the media on Tuesday morning, with the 54-year-old succeeding Didier Deschamps after a 14-year reign that began in 2012 and ended when France finished fourth at the 2026 World Cup. Zidane takes up the role on 1 August and has signed a contract that runs until the middle of 2030, according to Goal.com, which cited Fabrizio Romano’s report that the deal was fully completed.
Zidane’s return ends the longest gap of his coaching career: he had not held a job of any kind since leaving Real Madrid for a second time in 2021.
For a manager who once said representing France was “a dream,” this appointment closes a five-year waiting game that many assumed would end much sooner. Zidane, who scored twice in the 1998 World Cup final and won the Ballon d’Or that same year, spent nearly a decade and a half wearing the French shirt as a player. He now inherits a squad built around Kylian Mbappé, William Saliba and Aurélien Tchouaméni — players who grew up idolising him.
“There is nothing more beautiful than the French national team,” Zidane said at Tuesday’s press conference, according to Goal.com, adding that he had turned down other offers over the past four to five years while waiting for the job to become available.
Zidane is the only manager in history to win three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles — a run he delivered with Real Madrid between 2016 and 2018.
That résumé is precisely why the FFF waited him out. Across two spells in charge of Real Madrid (2016–2018 and 2019–2021), Zidane won the Champions League three times in a row plus two La Liga titles, establishing a managerial record no one else in the competition’s history has matched. He walked away from the Bernabéu twice — first days after securing that third straight European Cup in 2018, then again in 2021 after a trophyless league campaign — and has been out of work ever since, repeatedly said to have rejected club offers in order to keep himself available for this exact job.
Deschamps leaves a heavy set of shoes to fill. His own 14 years in the France dugout produced the 2018 World Cup title and a runner-up finish at the 2022 World Cup, along with a European Championship final appearance in 2016. Zidane is not walking into a rebuild so much as a handover of one of the most talented squads in international football — but he is doing it having been out of a dugout longer than some of his new players have been full internationals.
Zidane’s five-year absence from coaching is the longest of any manager taking over one of Europe’s top national teams in recent memory.
There is no easing-in period. France’s first assignment under Zidane comes in the UEFA Nations League league phase: away to Türkiye on 25 September, away to Belgium three days later on 28 September, then a double-header at home to Italy on 2 October and Belgium again on 5 October. Four matches in eleven days will tell everyone, quickly, whether the manager who never lost his aura as a player has lost anything as a coach during half a decade out of the game.
FAQ
How long is Zinedine Zidane’s contract with France? Zidane has signed a deal that runs until the middle of 2030, according to Fabrizio Romano’s reporting of the completed agreement. He formally takes over on 1 August 2026, succeeding Didier Deschamps, whose own tenure lasted 14 years from 2012 to 2026.
Why did Zidane wait five years to return to coaching? Zidane has not managed since leaving Real Madrid for a second time in 2021. He has repeatedly said he turned down other offers over that period specifically to remain available for the France job once Didier Deschamps’ reign ended after the 2026 World Cup.
What is Zinedine Zidane’s managerial record? Zidane is the only manager to win three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles, doing so with Real Madrid between 2016 and 2018. He also won two La Liga titles across his two spells in charge of the club, from 2016–2018 and 2019–2021.
When is Zidane’s first match as France head coach? France’s first fixture under Zidane is away to Türkiye in the UEFA Nations League on 25 September 2026, followed by away to Belgium on 28 September, and home matches against Italy on 2 October and Belgium on 5 October.
