France in the World Cup Semifinal: Deschamps Overtakes Helmut Schön as Record Coach

The dominance of the French against Morocco was clear: 22 of their own shots on goal stood against just five from the Moroccans. "Das sind alles hochtalentierte Spieler, aber die sind sich nicht zu schade, dreckige Arbeit zu machen", praised former German national team player Schweinsteiger the performance. "Es gibt Trainer, die können das", said Schweinsteiger after the commanding victory over Morocco. The French team defended collectively, so that the Moroccans barely got into good finishing positions.

Deschamps Overtakes Schön in Two Categories

Deschamps also highlights another historic figure: "Das ist jetzt das dritte Halbfinale bei einer WM in Folge, das ist also schon mal eine gute Sache." In most World Cup victories he has also already passed Schön: 20 wins are recorded for Deschamps, Schön had 16 victories. Deschamps thus also leads the record list in this statistic.

Looking ahead to the upcoming semifinal, the coach is already looking further: "Wir sind hier, um den Titel zu gewinnen." The semifinal takes place on Tuesday at 21:00 Swiss time, the opponent will be determined in the match between Spain and Belgium. After that, with the final or the third-place match, in all likelihood another 27th World Cup match will be added for Deschamps.

From Player to World Champion Coach

As a player, Deschamps had already won the World Cup title in 1998 in his own country. He was also successful as a coach: in 2018, he led France to the World Championship title. This achieved the rare "double" of World Cup triumph as a player and as a coach. Only Franz Beckenbauer and Mario Zagallo accomplished this feat alongside him. A "triple" - i.e., also a title as a club coach - has not yet been achieved by anyone. A second World Cup title as a coach would be another historic record: this has so far only been achieved by the Italian Vittorio Pozzo (1934 and 1938).

In six major tournaments, Deschamps has now delivered five times; the only disappointment was the round of 16 exit against Switzerland at Euro 2021 in Germany. After failing in the 2022 final in a penalty shootout against Argentina, he now wants to win his second World Cup title as a coach in the USA, Mexico, and Canada. "Ihr seid fähig, etwas Großes zu erreichen", he addressed his team before the match, giving them total confidence. This belief was visibly radiated by captain Kylian Mbappé and his teammates against Morocco.

Versatility as the Recipe for Success

The French press and the former stars are raving about the performance of the Equipe Tricolore and about their coach. Even former critics are now celebrating Deschamps for his work. "Es mag logisch und selbstverständlich erscheinen, aber man muss es erst einmal schaffen, so weit zu kommen", emphasized Deschamps the value of another semifinal appearance. "Haben eine große Hürde genommen", he summarized the victory - while retaining his characteristic calm. Only once did he rebuke a Swedish reporter: "Wenn du dich gelangweilt fühlst, guck was anderes. Du musst uns nicht zuschauen."

Deschamps' ability to win with different playing styles is also remarkable: fast-paced and patient against Senegal (3:1), cool and streetwise against Iraq (3:0), relaxed-casual against Norway (4:1) and Sweden (3:0), gritty and willing to suffer against Paraguay (1:0) - and now majestically commanding against Morocco. The 4:1 over Norway in the final group stage match had even been coached by Deschamps from afar, because he had stayed at home due to a bereavement. Among others with captain Mbappé, the 57-year-old was in each other's arms for a long time after the victory against Morocco - a gesture that symbolically stands for the team's cohesion. You could see that based on the reactions after the match, "an den Umarmungen".