Didier Deschamps calm and confident in bid to match Mario Zagallo | OneFootball

Calm and confident, Didier Deschamps enters what he says will be his final World Cup in America, and could join Mario Zagallo and Pelé on three titles. According to L'Équipe, the France manager is keen to keep emotions in check.

He said live in January 2025, during a Pièces Jaunes broadcast, that this would be his last major tournament and his mission would end afterwards. Confidence stems from a partly refreshed squad after Euro 2024, and from the group’s response to the 3-3 after extra time, 2-4 on penalties defeat by Argentina in Qatar.

He hears the summer buzz, yet it follows criticism of France’s Euro displays despite a 1-2 semi-final loss to eventual winners Spain. Now top of the FIFA rankings, France are viewed as one of two or three favourites, though Deschamps has cooled hype since March’s upbeat United States tour.

Focused on the competition, he resists nostalgia, though emotion showed when naming his 26 and cutting long-serving players. He has promoted talent too, with 11 new caps since the Euros and 13 World Cup debutants heading to America.

This is his fourth World Cup in charge at 57, and victory would match the landmark of Zagallo and Pelé. Like Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer, he won it as a player, the Brazilian twice on the pitch. He accepts the road is long and a World Cup hinges on too many variables to be certain, and in January 2024 he reflected on meeting Zagallo and Beckenbauer in 2018, calling it an honour.

Source: L'Équipe