The legendary former Les Bleus midfielder was confirmed as the replacement for Didier Deschamps on Tuesday (28.07.26) and explained that he chose not to work following the end of his second spell at Real Madrid in 2021 because he was desperate to take charge of the national team.

Zidane - who won 108 caps for France and helped his country to glory on home soil at the 1998 World Cup - said: "In the last four or five years, I had offers to join a club and I refused them all for the France national team. This job is the only job I wanted to do after my career with Real Madrid.

"I've always seen the France national team in the view of a fan - but also as a future manager. That's the reason why I didn't take on a new club team.

"I told myself that the only thing I wanted to do after Real Madrid was the French national team. I kept myself away from those teams. I had great projects, and could have done them for two or three years.

"But since Deschamps' decision at the start of 2025 to step down after the next World Cup, the next day I was very animated to say I wanted to be his successor.

"So I met the president in February 2025 and it's led us to here."

Zidane had two successful spells in charge at Real Madrid - winning two La Liga titles and three consecutive Champions League crowns from 2016 to 2018 - and explained that he has no concerns about taking charge of a national team for the first time after a lengthy period away from the game.

He said: "There's no worry. It's a completely different job from club coaching. It doesn't scare me.

"I'll have a balance between my personal life and the French national team. It suits me perfectly. It's a different kind of job, and I have no issues with that.

"I didn't sit around twiddling my thumbs for five years. I watched more matches than when I was coaching Real Madrid. I saw a huge number of them. I watched the French national team a lot, and there is great potential."