PARIS, France (AFP) — France’s 2018 World Cup-winning coach Didier Deschamps announced that he will leave his post after the 2026 tournament in North America.

“It will be 2026,” Deschamps told French broadcaster TF1.

“I have been there since 2012, it is planned that I will be there until 2026... the next World Cup.”

“It will end there because it has to end at some point. It’s clear in my mind.”

“I have done my time, with the same desire, the same passion to keep the France team at the highest level, but 2026 is good.”

Deschamps, 56, led France to World Cup glory in Russia in 2018 and guided them to the final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where they lost to Lionel Messi’s Argentina on penalties.

Following that heartbreaking loss in Doha, the French Football Federation rewarded Deschamps with a contract extension through to 2026.

That decision was not universally welcomed and criticism grew following last year’s European Championship when France never fully convinced and were beaten in the semifinals by eventual tournament winners Spain.

Deschamps also experienced a difficult end to 2024 with debate raging over the omission from the squad of captain Kylian Mbappe, who had a tough start to his time at Real Madrid and was, according to unconfirmed reports in Sweden, the focus of a rape allegation after a visit to Stockholm.

The investigation has since been dropped.

“All good things come to an end, and you also need to know when to stop,” Deschamps added as he spoke to reporters at an event in the south-western city of Bordeaux on Wednesday.

“It has been 12 years, and it will have been 14, which is fine. I have done my time, and I still have time left.”

Now that Deschamps has resolved the question surrounding his future, he can focus on France’s objectives on the pitch over the next 18 months.

Zinedine Zidane, who won the 1998 World Cup as a player alongside Deschamps, has long been tipped as the favorite to eventually replace him in the dugout.

Now 52, Zidane has been lying in wait since ending his second spell as coach of Real Madrid in 2021. One of France’s greatest ever players, he won the Champions League three times with Madrid but has not managed any other club.

“Nobody is irreplaceable,” Deschamps admitted.

“I have tried to be as indispensable as possible with the results that you know, but that is behind us now.”