Patrice Evra praises Didier Deschamps’ time as France manager: “It’s only the beginning.”

Speaking as a guest on Jérôme Rothen’s RMC show this evening, ex-left-back Patrice Evra notably discussed the decision to extend Didier Deschamps’ contract as France manager in the wake of the World Cup final, explaining that he believed his former Monaco coach to be the right man for the job.

“Didier has a lot of enemies, and I think when that’s the case, it shows you’re disruptive and winning a lot. I’m sorry, but why would you change something that’s working? He knows this generation well. He brought in some players where we were saying, “he’s not ready, they won’t even get past the group stage”, and he went all the way to the final.”

Deschamps signed a new contract in January, bringing his time with the national team up until after the World Cup in 2026. His reign – which started in 2012 – has seen him lead Les Bleus to three major finals, winning the World Cup in 2018 as well as the Nations League in 2021.

Zinédine Zidane was strongly linked to the job throughout the last few years, and seen as a potential successor to Deschamps after the tournament in Qatar. For his fellow former France captain Evra, though, the French national team’s third World Cup title will come with the latter at the helm:

“Obviously it would be nice to see Zidane as France manager. But for me, Didier Deschamps’ story with the French national team isn’t over yet. […] It’s only the beginning.”

“That’s what I was saying to all the foreigners, in England and elsewhere […] You’re laughing now because we lost the final, but this team will bring home the third star. People might think I’m crazy – but I’ve seen the other teams, and you look at what we did without our key players…”

GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin