Zidane confirmed as France manager, Mbappé at the centre of his project

Zidane takes over, Mbappé central to the plan

The biggest story of your summer is confirmed. Zinédine Zidane will take over as France manager (2). His backroom team is already coming together: David Bettoni as assistant, Hamidou Msaidie and Stéphane Plancque as fitness coaches, Grégory Dupont as physical trainer, and Fabien Barthez joining as goalkeeper coach (2). Mike Maignan, Lucas Digne, Adrien Rabiot, Michael Olise, Jules Koundé, Dayot Upamecano, and Aurélien Tchouaméni are all named as part of the squad core Zidane will build around, with Kylian Mbappé at the centre of the project (2).

France 4–6 England in the third-place match

Your team fell in a wild one on Saturday. France 4–6 England in the World Cup third-place playoff (3). Rayan Cherki and Didier Deschamps had a tense moment during the match, but Cherki made his feelings clear afterwards, expressing his "reconnaissance infinie", infinite gratitude, to Deschamps (3). The World Cup chapter closes with France in fourth.

Deschamps dined with Macron after returning

Didier Deschamps debriefed with President Macron at the Élysée on Sunday after the squad returned from the World Cup (8). A quiet end to a record-setting tenure.

"Musical chairs" warning for Zidane

Stephen Brun did not sugarcoat the task ahead. "Un jeu de chaises musicales" awaits Zidane, he said, a game of musical chairs as the new manager figures out his squad (4).

Chelsea pushing for Lacroix at £60m

Chelsea have accelerated talks with Crystal Palace for Maxence Lacroix (5). Palace want at least £60m. The deal is being handled at ownership level. A France international centre-back could be on the move this summer.

Manu Koné wanted by United and Arsenal

Two Premier League giants are circling. Manchester United are very interested in Manu Koné, but Laurie Whitwell reports they may consider the AS Roma midfielder too pricey (6)(7). Arsenal are also in the fight (7).

Fan reactions

The Zidane announcement has mostly been overshadowed by a different kind of conversation. Fans on /r/soccer are reflecting on a strange World Cup stat: the defending champion has now lost the following World Cup final twice in a row, with France's 2022 defeat and Argentina's 2026 loss continuing the pattern. On /r/reddevils, United fans are split on Koné, intrigued by his France pedigree but wary of another midfield signing at a premium price. See the Koné thread.