End of incredible Deschamps era as France exit World Cup with a whimper

End of an era

Didier Deschamps' long and storied career with France will come to an end not how he would have wanted it - in Saturday's World Cup third-place play-off. The dreams of the 57-year-old, who won the World Cup as both a player (in 1998) and a manager (in 2018), winning it a third time are over after their 2-0 defeat by Spain in Tuesday's first semi-final in Dallas.

Having danced their way through the tournament with a series of impressive attacking displays, France managed just 10 shots all match in Dallas, their lowest total in the World Cup, with an expected goals of just 0.3. Former France midfielder Patrick Vieira told ITV: "They haven't shown up. I was expecting more. There was a big expectations for France to win the World Cup. All our top players went missing. Collectively we were really bad."

It will be zero consolation but Deschamps, in charge since 2012, set a record in Dallas for most World Cup games managed - 26. He previously shared the mark of 25 with ex-West Germany boss Helmut Schon.

Deschamps confirmed in January 2025 that he would step down after this summer's tournament and will mark his farewell game against the losers of England v Argentina in Miami on Saturday. "It's not time to talk about the future," he said in his post-match press conference. "It is not important on a personal level whether I leave a competition in a semi-final or final. I am extremely happy. I am very proud of everything we've done to reach this stage."

Legacy and future

Deschamps is one of only three people to win the World Cup as a player and manager - alongside Brazil's Mario Zagallo and West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer. His longevity as manager is also rare in the current era - having led the national team for 14 years. He won 20 of his 26 World Cup games as France boss, only losing three times.

As a player or manager he was involved in over half of the games France have ever won at World Cups - and the only two times they have lifted the trophy. Only three teams before now have reached the quarter-finals at least in four successive tournaments.

Former France striker and BBC pundit Olivier Giroud said: "He is like a second father for some players. The biggest thing he taught us was his desire, and his drive and ambition to be the absolute best and to win every single game." Former France full-back Gael Clichy, who played in the first year of Deschamps' reign, praised his former boss: "His legacy was that he took a team that was below par, and he managed to bring that team back up to the top."

Deschamps replaced Laurent Blanc in 2012 after a poor run in tournaments as France had been eliminated in the group stage at the 2008 European Championships and the 2010 World Cup. Under his guidance, the team became a powerhouse.

The favourite to replace Deschamps as France manager is former team-mate Zinedine Zidane. ESPN reported in March that a verbal agreement was already in place for Zidane to take over this summer. The 54-year-old, who won the 1998 World Cup alongside Deschamps, won three Champions League trophies as manager of Real Madrid.