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France are open to keeping Didier Deschamps as the manager of the national team until at least the 2024 UEFA European Championship, as per Les Parisien.
He has privately revealed his aspirations of continuing to manage the national team beyond 2022. This is in case Les Bleus make it to the final phase of the World Cup in Qatar.
They qualified for the semi-finals after beating England 2-1 in the quarter-finals on December 10. France will now play against giant killers Morocco with a place in the final on the line.
French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet announced before the tournament that Deschamps could decide on his future if France qualified for the semi-finals. They managed to do that after a strong performance against the Three Lions.
Deschamps also wants to continue as the head coach as he wants another try at winning the UEFA Euros. This will come as a blow to any immediate aspirations that Zinedine Zidane may hold of becoming France's manager.
He has been linked with the job in recent months. His former Juventus teammate, Thierry Henry, even claimed that Zidane is still a free agent because he wants to wait for the vacancy for the role of Les Bleus' manager.
He led the team to the final in the 2016 edition, where they lost in their backyard against Portugal in extra time. He won the 2018 FIFA World Cup, just the second in the country's history, and led them to glory in the 2021 UEFA Nations League.
Deschamps admits France had luck on their side in their World Cup win against England
Harry Kane's 54th-minute goal was sandwiched between goals from Aurelien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud either side of halftime. Harry Kane then missed the decisive penalty in the 84th minute to ensure the scoreline stayed at 2-1.
After the win, Deschamps admitted that France were perhaps a bit lucky to beat the Three Lions, and said (h/t ESPN):
"It's brilliant for the players to be in the last four again. In these moments you kind of wish time could stop for a while. But tonight we're going to enjoy it. We got a bit lucky although we gave away two penalties. We kept our lead with our hearts and our guts."
Morocco have put in some inspirational defensive performances throughout the competition. However, the two-time World Cup winners will be heavy favorites to qualify for the final. If they do, Deschamps' side could play either Croatia or Argentina in the final of the competition.
Another World Cup win would immortalize the manager's name in the country's history books; if it wasn't already after their triumph in Russia.
