France's Deschamps on cusp of World Cup history but happy to shun limelight

DOHA : No coach has ever won the World Cup twice in the post-World War II era but France's Didier Deschamps is one victory away from entering the record books when they take on Argentina in the final on Sunday in Qatar.

But ask the Frenchman about his chance at rewriting history when he can become the first to win the World Cup twice as a coach and once as a player, he steps away from the spotlight, happily allowing his beloved squad to be the focus instead.

"I'm not the most important thing here, the team is. Of course, I'm proud and we all know there's a chance now to defend our title in the final," Deschamps said.

"So that's a great achievement already. We'll do everything we can to ensure we're happier on Sunday evening.

"I don't really think about myself. I'm pleased with the fact that we've had this success."

Deschamps is the fourth manager to lead a country to back-to-back World Cup finals after Vittorio Pozzo (Italy), Carlos Bilardo (Argentina) and Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany), with the latter two losing one final each.

But his lasting legacy will be uniting a France squad that, in the past, had been fractured by in-fighting and impertinence before building a squad that knew how to go deep in tournaments.

Having captained France's 'golden generation' that won the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship, the 54-year-old has now nurtured another golden generation over the past decade.

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As a coach, Deschamps guided France to the European Championship final on home soil in 2016 where they narrowly lost to Portugal in extra time, the 2018 World Cup final where they thrashed Croatia and now the showpiece match in Qatar.

"We call him the lucky charm but the best quality of Deschamps is his ability to