Despite the disappointing Euros for France, the position of national coach Didier Deschamps is not under discussion. Philippe Diallo, the president of the French Football Federation (FFF), has confirmed that Deschamps will stay on until the 2026 World Cup.

France played a less than convincing tournament in attacking terms. The Blues finished the group stage in second place without scoring a field goal. In the knockout stage, against Belgium (1-0, own goal by Jan Vertonghen) and Portugal (0-0, through on penalties) a field goal was also not in the cards.

It was not until Tuesday that Randal Kolo Muani managed to score the first goal from open play in the semi-final against Spain, who quickly put things in order and came out on top thanks to goals from Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo (1-2).

France's poor performance at this European Championship earned Deschamps the necessary criticism, but the national coach is allowed to stay. “Deschamps has a contract and has fulfilled the sporting objective. He will continue. He must continue to fulfill his mission,” were Diallo's clear words after the lost semi-final in Munich.

Deschamps' contract expires after the 2026 World Cup and it is expected that he will retire after that tournament. The fact that Deschamps is allowed to stay has everything to do with the excellent statistics that he can present as national coach of the blues.

The 55-year-old Deschamps was appointed coach of France in 2012 and has since achieved great success with the country. In 2016 he reached the European Championship final, to become world champion in Russia two years later. After the disappointing European Championship in 2021, he managed to reach the World Cup final again, which was lost on penalties to Argentina.

Deschamps's stay means Zinédine Zidane will have to wait a while before he can take over as the new national coach. The legendary former midfielder has repeatedly stated his desire to become France's national coach one day. Zidane has been without a coaching job since leaving Real Madrid in 2021, with whom he won the Champions League three times.

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