France's Two Stars — From Zidane to Mbappé
Twenty years between their two titles. Two coaches, two generations, and a football culture that learned how to win in tournaments.
France lifted the World Cup for the first time in 1998 and again in 2018 — exactly 20 years apart. In the three finals France has played (1998, 2006, 2018, 2022), the country has become one of the most consistent footballing nations of the modern era.
1998 — Zidane at home
The first title was won on home soil. Coach Aimé Jacquet’s squad — Fabien Barthez, Laurent Blanc, Marcel Desailly, Lilian Thuram, Didier Deschamps, Emmanuel Petit, Youri Djorkaeff, Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane — swept through the tournament and thrashed the defending champions Brazil 3–0 in the Stade de France final. Zidane headed in two corners in the first half; Petit added a third in stoppage time. Jacquet had been heavily criticised in the build-up to the tournament; by the final whistle he was a national hero.
2006 — The headbutt
France came within minutes of a second trophy in Berlin 2006, with Zidane coming out of international retirement for one last run. He scored a chipped penalty against Italy in the final, was an assist away from being named player of the tournament, and then in extra time headbutted Marco Materazzi in the chest and was sent off. Italy won the shootout. It remains one of the most dissected endings in sporting history.
2018 — Deschamps completes the set
A dozen years later, Didier Deschamps — the captain in 1998 — lifted the trophy as coach. France beat Croatia 4–2 in the Moscow final. Kylian Mbappé, 19 years old, scored in the final and joined Pelé as the only teenagers to do so. Around him: Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kanté, Raphaël Varane, Hugo Lloris. Deschamps joined Beckenbauer and Zagallo as the only men to win a World Cup as both captain and coach.
2022 — The near-miss
Four years later, France nearly became the first team since Brazil in 1962 to retain the trophy. Trailing Argentina 2–0 with ten minutes left in the Lusail final, Mbappé scored a hat-trick — the first in a World Cup final since Geoff Hurst in 1966 — and forced penalties. Argentina won. Deschamps stayed on.
2026 — Deschamps’ fourth and last
Didier Deschamps has said 2026 will be his last tournament as France coach. Mbappé, now the captain and Real Madrid’s number 9, is the obvious focal point. The midfield rebuild around Aurélien Tchouaméni and Eduardo Camavinga is the real story: France enter the tournament as co-favourites, but they also carry a specific weight — they have already come second once with this core, and a tournament coach of Deschamps’ experience does not tend to allow second chances to go to waste.
