Kylian Mbappé's Mission: Win for Deschamps and Keep Him Away from Italy
Kylian Mbappé does not just want to win this World Cup for Didier Deschamps. He wants to keep him out of the opposite dugout.
The France captain has made no secret inside the camp that he is lobbying his coach over what comes next, once Deschamps’ long reign with Les Bleus ends after the 2026 tournament.
Deschamps, typically guarded, has left every door open. He has refused to rule out a return to club football or another crack at the international game with a different nation. At 55, with a World Cup title and a European Championship final already on his CV as a coach, the options will be there.
Mbappé is trying to close some of them.
Mbappé turns up the heat
Speaking to M6, Mbappé framed the mission in simple, ruthless terms: win for Deschamps, because that is what the coach understands best.
"The best way to pay tribute to him is to win because he loves to win. We're going to make sure he has the best of the recent World Cups. Hopefully, it will be his last because I hope he doesn't play for another team."
That final line carried more than a hint of possessiveness. France’s talisman does not want to see the man who shaped his international career plotting against him from another bench. And he admitted he is not leaving that to chance.
"I'm putting pressure on him," Mbappé added, lifting the lid on the conversations behind closed doors.
Italy talk sparks a sharp reaction
One scenario keeps coming back: Italy.
Deschamps’ name has hovered around the Azzurri job for years. His history in the country is rich, from anchoring Juventus’ midfield as a player to guiding the Turin giants from the dugout. With Italy wrestling with instability and the scars of missing multiple World Cups, a proven tournament operator like Deschamps looks an obvious fit on paper.
On paper. Not to Mbappé.
Asked directly about the links with Italy, the France captain did not sugarcoat his view.
"They said Italy, that would be awful," he said.
No diplomacy. No careful distancing from the rumor. Just a blunt rejection of the idea that Deschamps might be the man to restore one of France’s great footballing rivals.
One last shot at glory
For all the noise about the future, the present still carries enormous weight. Deschamps’ tenure with France is heading into its final chapter, with the 2026 World Cup set as the endpoint of an era that began in 2012.
They came agonisingly close in 2022, losing a wild final to Argentina. That defeat still lingers. This campaign is being framed within the squad as a chance at both redemption and farewell – a last push to deliver another star for the shirt and a fitting send-off for the coach who has defined a generation of French football.
Before Deschamps decides whether to embrace a new project or walk away from the touchline, he must steer France through one more World Cup cycle and squeeze every last drop from a squad still built to contend at the very top.
The road starts soon enough. Les Bleus open their World Cup campaign against Senegal on June 16 in Group I. Iraq follow on June 22, then Norway four days later to close out the group stage.
By then, the results will speak for themselves. The bigger question lingers in the background: when the final whistle of 2026 blows, will Deschamps walk away with France’s story complete – or walk back into the stadium wearing someone else’s colours?
