France ‘reach pre-agreement with Zinedine Zidane to take over from Didier Deschamps at end of World Cup’
FRANCE have an agreement with Zinedine Zidane for the ex-Real Madrid boss to take over after the World Cup, reports claim.
Zidane, 50, has not had a job since leaving Real Madrid in May 2021.
But he is set to return to the dugout as manager of the nation he won the World Cup with as a player in 1998.
Zidane has an agreement in principle to take over in January, according to Mundo Deportivo.
Current boss Didier Deschamps is out of contract at the end of the year.
And France appear to be set on replacing the man that led them to World Cup glory in 2018, regardless of results in Qatar.
Deschamps has been manager of the national team since 2012.
Mundo Deportivo go on to claim Zidane’s agreement with the French FA is “practically complete”.
He will reportedly be joined in the dugout by trusted assistant David Bettoni, who was his right-hand man at Real Madrid.
The France job is claimed to be Zidane’s “dream” role and led to him rejecting taking over Paris Saint-Germain in the summer.
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Zidane won 108 caps for France as a player, scoring 31 goals.
After winning the ’98 World Cup, Zidane was sent off in the 2006 final, which France lost, for headbutting Italian defender Marco Materazzi.
Les Bleus kick off their World Cup defence this evening as they take on Australia.
Kylian Mbappe and Co then face further group games against Denmark and Tunisia.
And Deschamps will be desperate to go out on a high in Qatar after spending the last decade as France boss.