The defeat against Italy could leave its mark. Facing an Italian team that seemed to be lacking in benchmarks for the last Euro 2024, the French team completely missed out against Luciano Spalletti’s team at the Parc des Princes (3-1). While this is not a qualification for a World Cup or a European Championship and there is nothing alarming, this defeat in the group stage of the Nations League, at home, is starting to make the French coach doubt. It is also the first time since 2015 that the Blues have conceded two consecutive defeats, in all competitions. And after a Euro 2024 that was attractive in its journey, but not very reassuring in its play, Didier Deschamps’ future is inevitably called into question. “He has a contract until 2026, he is meeting the objectives and giving satisfaction. The question is not, today, current”assured Philippe Diallo, the president of the FFF, this Saturday. But should we still trust Didier Deschamps? This is the question that the editorial staff asked itself.
YES, Didier Deschamps must go
His pragmatism has, however, made the Blues’ heyday. Since he arrived on the French bench in 2012, Didier Deschamps has clearly taken the French team into another dimension. An encouraging outing in the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup against Germany, a lost final at Euro 2016, then a consecration at the 2018 World Cup, passing by a failure at Euro 2021, this one without consequence since the Blues returned to the final of the 2022 World Cup. However, there was a clean sheet during the qualifiers for Euro 2024, with only a draw conceded against Greece (2-2), but since then, something seems to have broken. Since the decline of Olivier Giroud, Didier Deschamps has never been able to find the ideal formation to play his attack and coordinate his team. The two defeats against Germany, in a friendly before the Euro, are proof of this. The offensive efficiency of the Blues has disappeared and the style of play is no longer even recognizable, far from what the French team had managed to do during the last two World Cups.
But Euro 2024 has above all shown the limits of Didier Deschamps’ system. With a team composition that he had difficulty finding throughout the competition, his sporting choices have also been difficult to understand, like the case of Antoine Griezmann, the lack of playing time of Bradley Barcola or the selection of Kingsley Coman, who only played 16 minutes against the Netherlands. Not to mention the captaincy of Kylian Mbappé, which has not been very successful so far. The French team no longer seems to follow and has only won 36% of its matches, all competitions combined, in 2024 (4/11), its lowest win ratio in a calendar year since 1992. And when individuals no longer work, the Blues are lost. The defeat against Italy only confirmed the end of a breath. With the arrivals of Bradley Barcola, Michael Olise, Manu Koné and other new faces for the future and to start a new cycle before the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, it is perhaps time to say thank you for everything to Didier Deschamps.
NO, Didier Deschamps must stay
For the detractors of the coach of the Blues, it is, it seems, time to turn the page on Deschamps. But do you close a book, 12 years old, so easily? And above all, who would replace him? A question that seems, today, very important in the management of this succession. If the name of Zinédine Zidane comes up insistently, it is good to remember that the former 1998 world champion has not coached for more than three years, and the end of his adventure with Real Madrid. Even if the native of Marseille has, indeed, a fine record with the Merengues (2 championships and 3 Champions Leagues), he has however no experience on an international bench. The management of a group being very different between club football and national football, Deschamps seems, on this point, to be a few points ahead of his possible replacement.
Deschamps’ track record also plays in his favor. In more than ten years at the helm of the French team, Didier Deschamps can boast of having reached four major competition finals. The coach has a 50% win ratio with his two titles won in 2018 with the World Cup final won against Croatia (4-2) and then that of the 2021 Nations League won against Spain (2-1). In 159 matches (for 101 wins, 33 draws and 25 defeats), Deschamps will have thus acquired experience and in-depth knowledge of major tournaments. Few contenders can count on such a big CV.
