Kylian Mbappé's Mission: Win the World Cup for Deschamps

Kylian Mbappé is not ready to let Didier Deschamps go quietly – and certainly not into another nation’s dugout.

Deschamps will step away from the France job after the 2026 World Cup, ending an era that has defined modern French football. What comes next for him remains deliberately vague. He has kept every door open, from a return to club management to another crack at international football with a different country.

Mbappé is doing everything he can to slam at least one of those doors shut.

Mbappé’s plea: Win it for Deschamps – and keep him away from rivals

Inside the France camp, Mbappé has made no secret of his mission. He wants Deschamps’ final act with Les Bleus to be so complete, so satisfying, that the coach feels no need to start again elsewhere.

Speaking to M6, the France captain laid it out in simple terms: the greatest tribute is victory.

"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 last line was no slip. It was a message.

Mbappé then underlined just how involved he is in the conversation about Deschamps’ future: "I'm putting pressure on him."

This is not a distant, polite farewell. It is a star player trying to shape the next chapter of his mentor’s career.

Italy links unsettle France’s captain

Deschamps’ name has circled around one job more than any other: Italy.

The connection is obvious. He knows the country, its culture and its demands from his years at Juventus as both player and coach. The Azzurri, wounded by missed World Cups and chronic instability, are hunting for a steady, proven hand. On paper, Deschamps fits the profile of a man who can restore order to a four-time world champion.

On the pitch, that possibility hits closer to home for Mbappé.

Asked directly about the prospect of Deschamps in charge of Italy, Mbappé didn’t bother with diplomacy.

"They said Italy, that would be awful," he said.

One sentence, loaded. The idea of facing Deschamps in a rival technical area, potentially in a knockout tie, clearly jars with him. This is not just admiration; it borders on protectiveness. Deschamps is his World Cup coach, his tournament constant. The thought of that bond being repurposed for a footballing heavyweight like Italy cuts right to the heart of French ambitions.

One last World Cup run together

For now, the noise around Deschamps’ next move stays outside the dressing room door. Inside, the objective is brutal in its simplicity: win the World Cup and send him off as a champion.

After the pain of losing the 2022 final, France are hunting another star on the shirt and a farewell worthy of the man who delivered their 2018 triumph and a decade of deep tournament runs. The 2026 World Cup will close Deschamps’ long reign; what happens after that is his choice, but he must first navigate one final campaign with a squad built to challenge anyone.

The path begins in Group I. Les Bleus open against Senegal on June 16, a dangerous, athletic side capable of unsettling any favourite. Iraq follow on June 22, a different type of test, before Norway await four days later in the group finale.

Every match will be framed the same way: one more step in Deschamps’ last World Cup, one more chance for Mbappé and his teammates to turn respect into legacy.

If they succeed, the question will hang over the game long after the final whistle in 2026: does a coach who has given everything to France really want to stand in the opposite dugout and try to tear it all down?