Zinedine Zidane's Official Return as France Coach
The wait is almost over. The French Football Federation has circled the date in red: Tuesday, 28 July 2026, 11am, at its headquarters in Paris. That is when France will officially present the new head coach of Les Bleus, with Zinedine Zidane standing at the centre of a moment the country has been anticipating for years.
Philippe Diallo, president of the federation, will front the press conference after an extraordinary meeting of the executive committee earlier the same day. The agenda is clear: confirm the successor to Didier Deschamps and usher in a new chapter for the world champions of 1998 and 2018.
Local newspapers had already pointed to that date on Wednesday evening. Now the FFF has made it official.
Deschamps Bows Out, Quietly
Deschamps’ reign ends not with a grand farewell tour, but with a simple full stop. No ceremony, no lap of honour, no choreographed goodbye. After 14 years in charge of the national team, the man who turned France into a model of consistency steps aside without fanfare.
The message is unmistakable: attention moves instantly to what comes next.
For months, perhaps years, “what comes next” has had one name attached to it. Zidane, Deschamps’ teammate in that iconic 1998 side, has long been the natural heir in the public imagination. Now, according to multiple reliable reports, that succession is about to be made official.
Zidane’s Long-Awaited Return
Zidane has been away from the dugout since June 2021, when he walked away from Real Madrid for a second time. He could have gone elsewhere. Offers arrived, and not just a few. He turned them down, waiting for one job.
France.
The federation and Zidane have already reached an agreement, with only some final touches on his backroom staff still to be settled before he formally takes charge. The structure around him, the assistants, the analysts, the trusted lieutenants from his Madrid days or new French voices – that is where the last details lie.
One potential obstacle has already been cleared. Recent reforms in France introduced a salary cap framework, sparking questions about how a coach of Zidane’s stature and market value would fit into the new rules. The answer: he won’t have to. The relevant government authorities have granted him a special exemption, allowing the FFF to complete the deal without breaching the new limits.
A Fiery First Test for Zizou
If Zidane hoped for a gentle easing-in period, the calendar has other ideas. His first international window in charge, spanning September and October, is a gauntlet.
It starts with Turkey on 25 September, a trip that will test organisation, intensity, and his ability to impose ideas quickly. Three days later, on 28 September, France head to Belgium, one of Europe’s most technically gifted sides and a familiar, awkward rival.
Then comes the first night under the lights at Stade de France. On 2 October, Italy arrive in Paris. For Zidane, that fixture carries a weight that goes beyond tactics and team selection. He spent five years at Juventus, forged his legend in Serie A, and wrote some of his most memorable club chapters on Italian soil. To face the Azzurri in his first home match as France coach adds an extra layer of emotion and scrutiny.
There is another twist. Reports have already linked Deschamps with the Italian national team job after his departure from France. If that move materialises, France–Italy would acquire a sharp, personal edge: the man who defined one era of Les Bleus facing the man charged with defining the next, from the opposite bench.
The Nations League Gauntlet
The UEFA Nations League offers Zidane no breathing space. After Italy in Paris, France go straight back into battle.
On 5 October, they host Belgium in a quick-fire rematch that will reveal how fast Zidane can adapt, tweak, and respond at elite level with a national side. Then, on 12 November, France travel to Italy, a return to a country that shaped Zidane the player and may soon be home to Deschamps the coach.
The group stage closes on 15 November with France hosting Turkey, a fixture that could decide group positions, seeding, and the early verdict on Zidane’s tenure.
France’s Nations League fixtures under Zidane:
- Turkey v France, 25 September
- Belgium v France, 28 September
- France v Italy, 2 October
- France v Belgium, 5 October
- Italy v France, 12 November
- France v Turkey, 15 November
No soft landings. No warm-up games against modest opposition. From the first whistle, Zidane steps into a schedule loaded with history, rivalry, and expectation.
He once carried France on his shoulders as a playmaker. Now he returns with a clipboard and a technical area instead of a number 10 shirt. The question is no longer whether he will take the job. It is how quickly he can turn his legend into a new kind of authority – and whether this second act can match the myth of the first.
