Thierry Henry's Future in French Football: Zidane Takes Charge
Thierry Henry has already had a taste of leading his country on home soil. At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, he took a youthful France side all the way to a final with Spain, only to watch extra-time rip the gold from their grasp. Silver medals for Michael Olise and the rest, and a lingering sense that something bigger might yet await the man on the touchline.
For now, Henry is back in the studio, dissecting games rather than directing them. At 48, he has coached at Monaco, crossed the Atlantic to take charge of Montreal Impact in MLS, and worked in the inner circle of Roberto Martinez with Belgium. The coaching CV is varied, incomplete, and very much still open.
He is not sprinting towards the next dugout. He is waiting. The right offer, though, will always turn his head.
And there is one job that will always sit at the top of that list.
Zidane steps in, Deschamps steps away
France are about to close the book on a remarkable era. Didier Deschamps is walking away after 14 years in charge, a tenure that brought the 2018 World Cup and a UEFA Nations League title, as well as a near-constant presence in the latter stages of major tournaments. His record has set a brutal standard for whoever comes next.
That man is Zinedine Zidane. A Ballon d’Or winner, a World Cup icon, and now, for the first time, a head coach outside the Real Madrid bubble. He inherits a squad packed with star power: Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and a supporting cast that most international managers can only dream about.
The expectation is simple and unforgiving: win.
Former Arsenal “Invincible” Jeremie Aliadiere, speaking to GOAL in association with ToonieBet, knows exactly what Zidane is stepping into. He also knows who might follow.
“Why not Thierry?”
Asked whether Henry could one day extend the line of 1998 World Cup winners in the France dugout, Aliadiere did not hesitate.
“Why not? I'm sure Thierry will be delighted to get the job,” he said. “We've seen how patriotic he is and how much he loves France. We saw him during the Olympic Games in 2024 as well. He's had a great tournament there. I'm sure that'll be in the back of his mind and he will love to get the opportunity at some point.”
The picture is clear: Zidane now, Henry possibly later. But Aliadiere is under no illusions about the scale of the current moment.
“Zidane in France is something different and now we've touched the gods. Zidane will always be Zidane. So I wish and I really hope that he succeeds and everything goes well.
“Because as much as Deschamps didn't win this World Cup, he's still all the time going to semis, to finals, won in 2018. So you just think it's still going to be a challenge for Zidane to get over the line.
“Because the next step now really for Zidane, he has to win something. He can't just come and then do a semi-final or a quarter-finals. And we know how hard it is to win it. Only one team can. And we know with England as well. They've been in tournaments lately where they are so close but not quite there. So you just start losing patience. Hopefully Zidane can do it.”
The bar has been set by Deschamps. Zidane is expected not only to match it, but to clear it.
A golden era with room to grow
The obvious question follows: can France stay at the summit? Can this group keep contending for European Championship and World Cup titles over multiple cycles?
Aliadiere’s answer is emphatic.
“Yeah, 100%. I think so.
“I think as much as people might say that Didier Deschamps has only one World Cup, that is obviously more than a lot of anyone else. But you just think what he's done in terms of leading the team with such a great squad and great talent.
“Zidane's going to come in and he hasn't got a lot to do really. Everything's already set for him to succeed.”
The depth is frightening. The age profile even more so.
“So yeah, I think you're right. I think the force, the age, the players that we're missing as well that will be back in the team.
“You think a player like [Rayan] Cherki who couldn't get much minutes in there, he'll be in for two years, four years. You think about [Hugo] Ekitike who was injured before it. It's like the names that you've got and the talent you've got, I think Zidane now has just got to put his little magic on it and then make it work.”
France are not rebuilding. They are reloading. Zidane walks into a structure Deschamps has already hardened into a winning machine, with another wave of talent – Cherki, Ekitike and others – waiting to break through.
Somewhere in the background, Henry watches, waits and weighs his next move. If Zidane delivers and eventually steps aside, the class of ’98 could yet send another legend into the France technical area. The only unknown is whether the man who once finished everything in the penalty area will one day be trusted to finish the job from the bench.
