Didier Deschamps has compiled many accolades across his career. One stands out above the rest.
The French national team manager was once a defensive midfielder for his home country, where he won the 1998 World Cup. Fast forward 20 years, and Deschamps was lifting the trophy again — this time as a coach — in 2018.
That victory put Deschamps in elite company. He became the third man ever to win a World Cup as a player and coach, joining Brazil’s Mário Zagallo and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer.
He’s now the only living man in the exclusive club.
Deschamps has one last chance to add a third World Cup title to his resume. The 57-year-old announced in January that the 2026 World Cup would be his last leading the French national team after 14 years in charge. With another impressive roster and a reputation for game-changing tactical adjustments, Deschamps enters his fourth World Cup as a coach as a favorite to win once again.
That journey begins Tuesday, June 16, with a group match against Senegal at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
“He’s been able to turn these teams over and move on from veterans, birth that next generation, empower them, and I think he’s going to go down as one of the greatest international coaches in history,” FOX commentator and former USMNT midfielder Stu Holden told The Record.
Deschamps’ only World Cup appearance as a player came in 1998. A captain, he helped France go 6-0 in the tournament. It outscored opponents 9-1 in three group matches, then topped Paraguay, Italy, Croatia and Brazil in the knockout rounds to claim its first-ever World Cup title.
Deschamps also helped France capture the 2000 European Football Championship before retiring shortly after. He finished his playing career with 103 caps.
He was coaxed back to the national team as its manager in 2012.
After falling to Brazil in the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup, Deschamps won it all in 2018 with a 4-2 win over Croatia in the final.
“I’ve been lucky enough to win trophies at club level, the [UEFA] Champions League, etc, but nothing beats being a world champion,” Deschamps told FIFA earlier this month. “Your name stays the same, but two words are added forever: world champion.”
Four years later in 2022, France advanced to the final again and narrowly lost in penalties to Argentina after clawing back from a 2-0 first-half deficit. John Strong, Holden’s partner on FOX’s lead broadcast team for the tournament, described that game as “one Emiliano Martínez save” from France going back-to-back.
Both Holden and Strong credited Deschamps’ success to his in-game adjustments. Holden pointed to Deschamps pulling starters like striker Olivier Giroud early in the 2022 final after falling down by two.
He added that Deschamps isn’t a “one-trick pony.” He changes his tactics every year based on the circumstances, including moving superstar Kylian Mbappé from playing out wide in 2018 to striker in 2022.
“He has that magic touch as a coach to know what is needed in the right moment but still carries the gravitas of a guy who is down 2-0 in the World Cup finals, is not afraid to pull off Giroud and some important players in the 30th minute and say, ‘I’m not waiting until halftime,'” Holden said.
Strong also praised Deschamps for having a “cool head” in pressure-laden situations. He said Deschamps and Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni have become the most successful international managers of the last 15 years by “not trying to overdo” anything.
“They know how to push the right buttons, but they do it in a more measured way,” Strong said of Deschamps and Scaloni.
This year, expectations are again sky high for France. But Deschamps can likely make a bigger impact than usual. Holden said this will be “the single most influence” coaches have had at a World Cup because of FIFA introducing three-minute hydration breaks midway through each half.
During those pauses, Deschamps can better show his players what he’s seeing and make changes before having longer discussions at halftime.
“Coaching can really change the outcome on the field between these hydration breaks, which will turn into opportunities for coaches to switch tactics, to change the game, to move personnel around,” Holden said.
France is Holden’s favorite to win it all, not only because of a stacked roster but because Deschamps and veteran players like Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé know what it takes to win on this stage. In Strong’s eyes, anything short of a championship would be disappointing.
No matter what happens, though, Deschamps’ legacy shouldn’t change. People often take for granted how difficult it is to win a World Cup as a player, let alone make two more finals as a coach, Holden emphasized.
Another title this summer would reinforce his belief — Deschamps is one of the best international managers of all time.
“It’s pretty remarkable what he’s done,” Strong said. “But the challenge is amped up again with sort of this blessing of riches that comes with this France squad right now.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Didier Deschamps’ last World Cup leading France begins at MetLife
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