The President of the French Football Federation, Noel Le Graet, will hold a crucial meeting with the national team coach, Didier Deschamps, next week, to finally agree to extend his contract until 2024, according to what was reported by the newspaper "West-France" (Ouest-France) Thursday.

The French newspaper said that Le Graet - who has already expressed his desire for Deschamps to continue in his position as coach of the French national team - will meet with his compatriot next week in the French city of Guingamp, to hold a final and decisive round of negotiations before officially signing the contract extension and putting an end to speculation about the fate of Deschamps, whose contract expired. After the 2022 Qatar World Cup finals.

"I think we will agree to extend the experiment. Didier has done his job well, and he has priority to continue in his position," Le Graet said in an interview he gave Thursday with "West France" newspaper.

Le Graet seeks to quickly resolve the completion of the file to extend Deschamps' experience at the head of the French national team before the end of the year, if possible, while the meeting scheduled to take place between the two men in Guingamp will be decisive, according to the newspaper.

Le Graet told the French newspaper, “The meeting that will take place next week will be the last before making the final decision. Deschamps meets all the conditions for an extension. I told him from the moment we were in the last 4 matches in the 2018 World Cup that the decision is in his hands. We will see each other in the next meeting and we will decide.” command".

Deschamps took over the French national team in August 2012 and led him to the Euro 2016 final, crowning the 2018 World Cup, and then reaching the 2022 World Cup final (Reuters)

"I have to talk to some members of the federation about this, but in my opinion we will settle everything in Guingamp's meeting. If Deschamps does not want to stay, the meeting will be very short, but if he wants to stay there will be a little longer discussions," the FFF president added. We are working to finish this file before the end of the year and I think we will agree."

Regarding possible options - including Zinedine Zidane - in the event that Deschamps refused to extend, Le Graet said, "I did not think about the fact that Didier could leave us. Some journalists want to promote that, but I am not affected at all by this kind of news. Didier did his job well, And he has priority."

And local press reports revealed that Deschamps - who is the French coach with the longest term at the head of his country's national team for 10 years, since 2012 - will leave his post, and that there are several names, most notably the former star and Deschamps' colleague in France's coronation in the 1998 World Cup, and he will be the next coach of the Dukes.

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The French national team, under the leadership of Deschamps, 54, lost the 2022 Qatar World Cup final last Sunday to Argentina, on penalties, 4-2, after a 120-minute equalizer, 3-3.

Deschamps - who took over the reins of training France in August 2012 to succeed his compatriot Laurent Blanc - managed to chart a successful career for the "roosters" in the World Cup "Russia 2018" when he was crowned the title, which is the second in the history of France, then the last edition of the World Cup in Qatar when he lost. The final match against Argentina, but he was the fourth coach to lead a team to two consecutive World Cup finals after Vittorio Pozzo (Italy), Carlos Bilardo (Argentina) and Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany).