When the England team created a brave victory against Mexico in the round of 16, they reached the milestone of 10 wins in the World Cup knockout rounds since the 1966 final.
A day earlier, Didier Deschamps also reached a similar milestone as head coach of the French national team. Under this strategist alone, Les Bleus have won 10 matches in the World Cup knockout stages.
If including the time Deschamps was the captain of the French team winning the 1998 World Cup, his total number of wins in the knockout rounds could be 13 or 14, depending on the calculation of matches decided by penalty shootouts.
France's continuous deep progress in the World Cups also makes reunions familiar. The quarter-final match against Morocco in Boston is a reenactment of the 2022 World Cup semi-final, where Les Bleus once defeated the African representative. If they advance, they can completely rematch Argentina in the second consecutive final, or meet England again - an opponent that France eliminated in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals.
Deschamps' success is also reflected in the numbers. When he took over the national team 14 years ago, Italy had 44 wins at the World Cup, while France had only 25 wins. Currently, if they overcome Morocco, Les Bleus will reach the milestone of 45 wins.
Especially under Deschamps, the French team won 19 out of 24 matches at the World Cup, drew 3 and lost 2 if not counting penalty shootouts; or won 19, drew 2 and lost 3 if counting the defeat against Argentina on penalties in the 2022 World Cup final. This is a particularly impressive achievement, to the point that fans gradually see it as obvious.
Before Deschamps took over, the French team went through a cycle of success and then a clear decline: winning the championship in 1998, being eliminated from the group stage in 2002, reaching the final in 2006 and falling into crisis at the 2010 World Cup. Conversely, under Deschamps, Les Bleus maintained rare stability when they always reached the quarter-finals or further in every World Cup since 2014.
Not only building a team capable of competing for titles, Deschamps also left a solid foundation for his successor, likely Zinedine Zidane. Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue or Warren Zaire-Emery have all accumulated valuable experience at the 2026 World Cup and are expected to become pillars of the French team in the future.
Despite being labeled as a pragmatic coach many times, Deschamps still helps the French team play effectively and with strong attacking power. Under his leadership, Les Bleus have scored 54 goals at World Cups.
If he goes deep at the 2026 World Cup, the 57-year-old strategist can completely close his international career with a perfect farewell, while affirming his position as one of the greatest coaches in the history of the tournament.
The match between France and Morocco takes place at 3:00 AM on July 10 (Vietnam time).
