Desailly predicts Zidane will drop four or five Deschamps regulars

Marcel Desailly predicts a clean break with the Deschamps era if Zinedine Zidane takes over France after the 2026 World Cup. In an interview with Flashscore, the 1998 World Cup winner believes four or five players currently considered automatic starters could lose their place under the next manager.

“I think Zidane will do everything possible to impose his own philosophy on the system, by moving away from the philosophy put in place by Didier,” Desailly said. “I am certain that four or five players, automatic starters for Didier, will leave the team to make way for a different philosophy.”

Since Didier Deschamps announced his departure in January 2025 following the World Cup, Zidane’s candidacy has emerged as the most obvious in public debate. A BFM TV-RMC poll indicates that 71% of French football fans want to see the former playmaker on the France bench.

For Desailly, Zidane’s appointment is almost certain, and the context of the national team would finally give him the framework he never found at club level. “Zidane never wanted to join any club. Chelsea gave him a blank cheque. Manchester United did the same when they were struggling. Turkish teams too,” he recalls. “That shows he has a real vision of lifestyle. He needs space. And the national team will give him the means to reintegrate the system while allowing him to continue to have a decent quality of life.”

Desailly also points out that Zidane could not fully express his philosophy at Real Madrid, where he inherited the system put in place by Rafael Benítez. “Fortunately, he brought his own vision of the game, and it worked wonderfully,” he acknowledges, suggesting that the French national team would be far more favourable terrain for his tactical expression.

Deschamps will leave France after fourteen years in charge, marked by the 2018 World Cup title and the 2022 final lost on penalties to Argentina. No official appointment has yet been announced by the French Football Federation.