Kylian Mbappe has compared Zinedine Zidane’s coaching to “a scene from a movie” as France prepare for their first game under the legendary former midfielder.
Zidane succeeded Deschamps after the 2026 World Cup and France reached the semi-finals before losing 2-0 to eventual champions Spain.
Deschamps spent 14 years with Les Bleus, playing a total of 187 games (103 as a player), seeing them win a second World Cup in 2018, in addition to finishing runners-up at the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2016, the latter of which was hosted on home soil.
France’s new era begins with a Nations League trip to Turkey on Friday, followed by games against Belgium (home and away) and Italy over the next two weeks.
Zidane made 108 appearances for France during his illustrious career, scoring 31 goals, including twice in the 1998 World Cup final victory over Brazil.
He also scored the Panenka penalty in the 2006 final before being sent off for head-butting Marco Materazzi as Italy beat the Blues in a penalty shootout.
And Mbappe – who will retain the captain’s armband under the new regime – has the chance to overtake Zidane on France’s all-time appearance list during the extended international break.
Mbappe’s next appearance will be his 107th, so if he plays in all these games he could potentially tie Zidane next Monday against Belgium and surpass him against Italy on October 2.
Speaking to AS, Mbappe recalled his first meeting with Zidane when the former midfield icon was working in Real Madrid’s youth academy as a young player attracting interest from Europe’s top clubs.
“He was the first one to pick me up and take me to Real Madrid, to the training centre, a few years ago. I was 13 or 14 years old; that was a long time ago,” Mbappe said.
“Now he’s my national team coach. It’s like something out of a movie, but he’s top class.
“It’s true, we are in a new process in France, we have two years to prepare for the Euros and we are working on it now.”
4 – Past four coaches’ performance@equipedefrance Once in this location:
Raymond Domenech:
1 Ligue 2, 1 Toulon ChampionshipLaurent Blanc:
1 French Ligue 1, 1 League Cup, 2 Champions TrophiesDidier Deschamps:
1 League 1,… pic.twitter.com/2wYjMmukqx— OptaJean (@OptaJean) July 28, 2026
Zidane is the only head coach to win three consecutive Champions League titles with Real Madrid from 2015-16 to 2017-18, but he neglected another job in club football after leaving the Bernabeu for the second time in 2021.
Deschamps repeatedly expressed his interest in becoming France coach in the final years of his tenure and Mbappe was delighted to see the changes he made.
“It’s a new phase with a new coach. It will be a new experience for everyone because we only have Deschamps,” Mbappe said.
“It’s going to be a change for us, but I think it’s going to be good.”