Deschamps’ new-look France continue to evolve in bid for perfect World Cup farewell

France won the FIFA World Cup for just the second time in its history in 2018, with one common denominator linking both triumphs. Didier Deschamps, who captained Les Bleus to victory on home soil in 1998, became just the third man, after Brazil’s Mário Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer of West Germany, to win the tournament as both a player and manager in Russia.

Deschamps inherited quite the mess when he took over from former teammate Laurent Blanc in July 2012. Although Blanc had steadied the ship to a certain extent, France were still feeling the hangover from their World Cup 2010 debacle in South Africa.

Under Blanc, they had reached the quarterfinals of Euro 2012 despite losing more games than they won. In the first tournament of the new era, Deschamps matched that achievement at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the first stepping stone to redemption.

Since then, he has led France to a second World Cup victory and to within a couple of penalties of a third. They narrowly missed out on winning a home European Championship in 2016 and won the UEFA Nations League for the first time in 2021.

Heading into the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, France were many people’s favorites to lift the trophy in what will be Deschamps’ last tournament at the helm after 14 years.

“The results kind of speak for themselves when it comes to Deschamps’ reign,” says journalist Raphaël Jucobin of Get French Football News. “If you look at his record at World Cups, and his record in terms of building a cohesive squad, then he’s definitely the best manager France has ever had.”

Substance over style

Not everyone, though, is a fan. In the last decade, it is easy to argue France have had the strongest squad of any competing nation at almost every major tournament.

“There have been a few lows, like losing the 2016 Euros final,” recalls Jucobin. “The Euros in 2021, as well. Being knocked out against Switzerland in the knockout stage was probably the big disappointment of his reign.”

In that round of 16 game against Switzerland, France had been 3-1 up and cruising with 15 minutes to go, but uncharacteristically allowed their opponents a route back into the game. Kylian Mbappé missed the decisive penalty in the shootout, and Deschamps had questions to answer.

The French boss had already been the target of criticism for his overly pragmatic style of play, an approach that ironically unraveled in the closing stages against Switzerland.

“The main criticism of Deschamps is the style of play, isn’t it?” ponders Jucobin. “He plays very tournament-focused football. There’s a sense that it’s more about efficiency, about the structure of the match, than any sort of stylistic considerations.”

For some, the feeling has at times been that Deschamps hasn’t got the best out of the endless amount of talent he has had at his disposal, particularly in attack. That arguably came to a head at Euro 2024, where France reached the semifinals but were not exactly easy on the eye, to put it mildly.

Tournament favorites once again, they scored only four goals in six games. Two were own goals, and another came from the penalty spot.

A new-look France

Still, it appears you can in fact teach an old dog new tricks, with Deschamps, swayed by the emergence of the likes of Michael Olise and Désiré Doué, adopting a more attack-minded approach in the most recent Nations League and World Cup qualifying.

“I think he has changed,” says Jucobin. “The fact he’s using that front four now of Mbappé, Dembélé, Olise and Doué shows that he’s willing to give a bit more freedom to that front four.”

“I think he realises now that this is probably the most exciting attack France has had since he took over, possibly even more so than when France went into the Euros with Griezmann, Benzema and Mbappé.”

Benzema famously returned to the French team after a five-year absence for Euro 2021, but his incorporation into the squad, and indeed the team, arguably disrupted Deschamps’ plans.

“When he did have that attack and it didn’t go very well at Euro 2021, he was thinking, ‘Okay, maybe I need to go back to basics. Maybe focus on the structure of the team more so than letting the attacking players have free rein.’”

Five years later, does Deschamps feel he has learned from his mistakes, or does the fact he knows the 2026 World Cup will be his last tournament take some of the pressure off?

“Yeah, he’s not managing for a new contract, so I think he is maybe more open to going all out on attack,” observes Jucobin.

“But going all out on attack is very relative when it comes to Deschamps. He has that midfield pivot that does all the dirty work, you could say, of Rabiot and Tchouaméni. That lets the front four have free rein, and we see he’s making a lot of changes within matches as well.”

France’s attacking conundrum

France’s opening game of the World Cup resulted in a 3-1 win over Senegal, but there was a marked difference between their blunt first-half showing and their razor-sharp second-half performance.

From a tactical perspective, the most obvious shift was the halftime switching of positions between PSG attacker Ousmane Dembélé, who started centrally behind Mbappé before moving out to the wing, and in-form Bayern Munich star Olise, who changed the game after drifting inside.

There was also a clear increase in tempo after the break, with quicker circulation of the ball and more vertical passing helping to stretch Senegal’s defensive shape.

Dembélé has, of course, been a player transformed since taking on a central role with his club, whereas France markedly improved with Olise supplying the bullets for Mbappé. Where does that leave the current Ballon d’Or holder?

“Dembélé was actually creating a lot of chances for Mbappé in the first half. It was Mbappé’s first touch that was letting him down,” explains Jucobin.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily a Dembélé issue, because he did play rather well, even if the chances he created weren’t converted.”

“Obviously, Dembélé won the Ballon d’Or by playing through the middle, but he’s not going to be playing as a No. 9 for France because Mbappé is there. So he is going to be playing either on the wing or in that kind of attacking midfield position, which I think he’s performed reasonably well in over the last couple of years.”

“I think there is a way to make the front four work together. And I think he’s going to try different combinations as the group stage goes on.”

The remaining question marks

France might have an endless amount of top-quality attacking options at its disposal, but where could they be vulnerable, particularly if, as expected, they reach the latter stages of the tournament once again?

“I think the full-backs have sort of emerged as the main weakness in the team,” Jucobin suggests. “I think Jules Koundé struggled this past season for Barcelona and he was a bit lacking against Senegal defensively. His crossing wasn’t great either.”

“It’s kind of the same issue on the other side with Théo Hernandez. It’s been an issue for the last few years. I think that’s one area where Deschamps would want to experiment a bit more and maybe try and settle on a full-back pairing before the end of the group stage.”

Zidane and what comes next

There is reportedly a verbal agreement in place for Zinedine Zidane to take over from Deschamps after the 2026 World Cup. The pair were both central figures in France’s 1998 triumph, although their roles could hardly have been more different: Deschamps as the “water carrier,” as Eric Cantona once put it, Zidane as the creative genius.

What might the change in the dugout mean for this current French team?

“Obviously, there’s a lot of excitement because Zidane, even beyond football, has this kind of aura in France as a public figure, as the hero of the 1998 title,” Jucobin explains. “He has that authority in the dressing room as a former player, as a former World Cup winner, like Deschamps.”

“But I think the style, the approach will be more of the same in that sense in terms of man management, in terms of being that kind of father figure in the dressing room and shepherding this ultra-talented attacking team.”

Jucobin points to Zidane’s stints at Real Madrid, the only previous managerial job he has held, as a blueprint for how he may behave as France manager. Managing egos and making players feel good about themselves is likely to take precedence over revolutionary, never-before-seen tactics.

“Judging from what he did at Real Madrid, he’s more of a man manager than someone focused necessarily on tactics, even if Deschamps is a very good tactician as well.”

“The sort of profile of manager they’re looking for is a figure who can command respect in the dressing room. I think that’s what both Deschamps and Zidane have to offer.”

“I think in terms of management, in terms of the figure in the dressing room, it will be more of the same. Maybe even more so in terms of commanding respect.”

“But I’m not sure how the team might change stylistically. Maybe they’ll play with a bit more freedom in attack. Maybe the way Deschamps is playing in this tournament could serve as a kind of transition towards what Zidane might put in place in terms of just letting the attacking players have free rein.”

The prospect of Mbappé, Dembélé, Olise, Doué, Barcola, and others being left off the leash is certainly an appealing one for France fans and soccer lovers in general.

Perhaps we’ll see it when Zidane, as expected, takes over. Or maybe Deschamps will give us a sneak preview during the remainder of the 2026 World Cup.

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