France’s Euro 2024 campaign ended with a semi-final defeat to Spain on Tuesday evening as Les Bleus’ dreams of a third European Championship title were dashed.
The 2-1 loss came after a series of uninspiring performances from Didier Deschamps’ side in Germany, with none of their players scoring a goal from open play until the semi-final.
While an appearance in the last-four does not require the kind of postmortem that would result in heads rolling, there had been plenty of speculation over the future of Deschamps, who has been in charge of France since 2012 amid frustrations from certain quarters over a reliance on over-defensive tactics.
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Deschamps detractors also point to the fact that France legend Zinedine Zidane remains out of work since he called time on his second spell as Real Madrid boss in 2021.
Zidane won two La Liga titles and three Champions Leagues during his time in the Bernabeu dugout and has turned down a number of advances in recent seasons, while claiming last year that it is ‘logical’ for him to want to be France boss.
But it looks like Zidane will have to continue biding his time as Deschamps still has two years remaining on his current contract, with Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation, insisting that the 55-year-old will continue in the job.
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Zinedine Zidane with the Champions League trophy (Image credit: PA)
“He does indeed have a contract and has fulfilled the sporting objective that was given to him,’ Diallo told L’Equipe following France’s Euro 2024 exit. “When we look at his career at the manager of the French team, it is exceptional. Didier led this team in the best possible way during the Euros.
“I do not see any reason to question his contract. Past results speak in his favour and the objectives have been achieved. Didier will continue his mission.”
Diallo added that he will meet with Deschamps shortly to discuss the future, with the 2026 World Cup in North America the next major tournament.
“We will discuss together in the coming days to analyse in more depth what we lacked during this semi-final and what would have allowed us to go further. This month, I have seen a lot of professionalism, a search for excellence. We must keep the French team heading in this direction.”
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