Kylian Mbappé's Ambition for Didier Deschamps' Future

Kylian Mbappé doesn’t just want to win the World Cup for Didier Deschamps. He wants to make sure his coach never turns up in the opposite dugout.

The France captain has never hidden the depth of his bond with Deschamps, but in the build-up to 2026 he has gone a step further, openly admitting he is trying to shape the 55-year-old’s future once his time with Les Bleus ends.

Deschamps is set to leave the France post after the 2026 World Cup, yet has been deliberately vague about what comes next. He has kept every door open: a return to club football, another national team, or something entirely different. For most managers of his stature, that kind of freedom is a luxury. For Mbappé, it is a threat.

“The best way to pay tribute to him is to win because he loves to win,” Mbappé told French broadcaster M6. “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 last line carried a sting. Mbappé doesn’t just want to send Deschamps off as a champion; he wants to close the book on his international coaching career altogether.

And he’s not pretending to be neutral about it.

“I’m putting pressure on him,” he admitted, a rare moment of bluntness about the power dynamic inside the France camp. The star forward, already the face of the national team, is now openly campaigning over what happens after the final whistle of Deschamps’ last tournament.

One possible destination has loomed larger than most: Italy. Deschamps’ history there is rich and complicated. He captained Juventus as a player, then returned to manage the club, leaving a strong imprint on Italian football culture. With the Azzurri still trying to piece themselves back together after missing multiple World Cups and enduring years of turbulence, his name has repeatedly surfaced as an ideal architect for a reset.

On paper, it makes perfect sense. A World Cup-winning coach with deep Serie A roots taking charge of a fallen giant desperate for structure and authority.

Mbappé hates the idea.

Asked directly about the links between Deschamps and the Italy job, he didn’t bother with diplomacy. “They said Italy, that would be awful,” he said. No smile, no softening. Just the France captain recoiling at the thought of his mentor plotting against Les Bleus from the other side of the touchline.

For now, that remains a problem for tomorrow. The present belongs to France and one last tilt at the biggest prize of all under a coach who has defined an era.

Deschamps, already a World Cup winner as both player and manager, heads into 2026 knowing this will be his final tournament in charge of the national team. The mission is simple and brutal: one more campaign, one more shot at the trophy, one last chance to leave with “maximum results,” as the federation frames it.

The scars of 2022 still linger. France came within touching distance of retaining their crown, only to fall in a wild final that slipped away on penalties. That defeat hardened the group. It also sharpened the sense that this cycle is closing, that Deschamps’ reign needs a definitive ending, not a slow fade.

Group Stage Matches

The path begins against Senegal on June 16 in Group I, a dangerous opener against a side with enough athleticism and structure to punish any complacency. Six days later comes Iraq on June 22, a very different kind of test, then Norway on June 26 to close the group, a fixture that could decide not just top spot but the tone of France’s entire tournament.

Every match from here on carries an extra layer. It’s not just about results; it’s about legacy. Each team talk, each selection, each tactical tweak is part of Deschamps’ final chapter with France. And somewhere in the background, Mbappé is pushing, nudging, insisting that this chapter is also the last one of his international career as a coach.

Win it all, walk away, and never sit in another national team dugout. That’s the script Mbappé is trying to write for his manager.

Whether Deschamps follows it is another matter entirely.