Didier Deschamps to remain France coach till 2026

Deschamps, who guided France to the 2018 World Cup win and a runner-up finish in 2022, will oversee France’s campaign at the 2024 Euro Cup.

FILE PHOTO: France head coach Didier Deschamps celebrates after the World Cup semifinal win over Morocco at the Al Bayt Stadium, Qatar, on December 14, 2022. | Photo Credit: AP

French Football Federation (FFF) extended the contract of France coach Diddier Deschamps for three more years on Saturday.

Deschamps, who guided France to the 2018 World Cup win and a runner-up finish in 2022, will oversee France’s campaign at the 2024 Euro Cup with the possibility of coaching the team for the third consecutive World Cup in the Americas in 2026.

Recently, FFF president Noel Le Graet said he wanted Deschamps to continue to coach France.

The 54-year-old coach’s contract expired at the end of 2022.

“I am going to announce something which for me is an immense pleasure, and that is that the president has decided to extend (my contract) until 2026,” Deschamps said at the FFF general assembly.

“I thank the president for his constant support and his continued confidence in me,” Deschamps added. “It is essential for the France team to function well.”

Deschamps, who was first appointed the head coach of France in 2012 to replace Laurent Blanc, led France to the 2016 Euro runner-up finish before winning its second World Cup trophy in 20 years in Russia in 2018.

In doing so, he became only the third man after Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer to win the World Cup as both a player and a manager, and only the second captain after Beckenbauer to do so.