Most World Cup wins by coach: How France's Didier Deschamps can achieve rare feat in 2026

Most World Cup wins by coach: How France's Didier Deschamps can achieve rare feat in 2026 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

France manager Didier Deschamps has already announced that the 2026 World Cup will be his last, but his team is playing like it has some unfinished business.

Deschamps missed a second consecutive World Cup trophy in 2022 with a narrow loss to Argentina in the final, but he has the chance to go out on top in 2026 with France seeking its second win in the last three World Cups.

If France does pull it off, Deschamps would join an exclusive group of coaches to win multiple World Cups.

Here's a look at how history can be made by France's manager.

Ranking remaining World Cup teams in semifinals

World Cup prize money breakdown

Coaches to win multiple World Cups

Only one coach has won the World Cup twice: Italy's Vittorio Pozzo, who won in both 1934 and 1938 with the Italian squad. Since then, a different manager has won each World Cup.

With the tournament only being played every four years and back-to-back champions rare, coaches often don't stick around long enough to win more than once. Even Pozzo didn't do what Deschamps has the chance to do: win two non-consecutive World Cups. Deschamps nearly won back-to-back in 2022, but a win in 2026 would give him two titles eight years apart.

If France wins, Deschamps will stand as one of two coaches to win the World Cup twice and the only living coach with more than one championship on this stage. The same, of course, can be said of Lionel Scaloni, who is attempting to win back-to-back titles at the helm of Argentina.

Here's more to know about Pozzo.

MORE:How many World Cups has France won?

Pozzo spent 19 years at the helm of the Italian national team, winning the World Cup in both 1934 and 1938. His tenure remains the longest of any European national team coach and included an Olympic gold medal as well as seven Central European International Cup titles.

The 1934 World Cup, hosted by Italy, remains marred by speculation that it was rigged in favor of the Italian squad due to pressure by dictator Benito Mussolini. Italy, however, went and won four years later in France to cement itself as the dominant force of the 1930s.

Pozzo never coached in another World Cup, as the 1942 and 1946 tournaments were cancelled due to World War II. Many of Pozzo's players from the latter portion of his tenure managing Italy died in the 1949 Superga air disaster, after which Pozzo himself took on the grim responsibility of identifying many of the bodies.

MORE:Complete history between France, Spain

Didier Deschamps record as France coach

Deschamps is 120-28 with 35 draws across 183 matches as France's manager. He took the reins of Les Bleus in 2012 and has now coached France in four different World Cups.

Deschamps has already made history as one of three men to win the World Cup as both a player and a manager, as he captained France during its 1998 World Cup victory.

After his playing career, Deschamps spent time as a club manager at Monaco, Juventus and Marseille before taking the reins of France. Now set to step away from France at the end of the World Cup, Deschamps already has a special place in the history of the French national team but can become a global great with a second World Cup title.