Didier Deschamps admitted he decided to step down as France manager "for the good" of the team following the end of their World Cup campaign.

Deschamps announced back in January 2025 that he would not be renewing his contract, which was due to run out at the end of the 2026 World Cup.

The 6-4 defeat to England in the third-place play-off was his 187th and final game in charge of France, with his side conceding the most goals in a match under him.

It was also his 27th game at the World Cup, the most for a head coach in the tournament's history.

But Deschamps conceded there had been tough moments in charge of the France team that led him to make his decision not to extend his 14-year reign.

"I decided it had to end. And if I made this decision, it wasn't for myself, I tell you sincerely, it was for the good of the French team," he told M6.

"Because the environment was so unbearable for me, the French national team doesn't deserve that. It wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. I thought about it.

"Since it was announced, things have been much better for the French national team. I could have made a decision before the World Cup or during it. I didn't want to because I respect the French national team too much."

Despite all of that, it was an emotional moment for Deschamps, who saw his team attempt a second-half fightback in Miami.

"This is the end of something that represented the most beautiful thing there is," he said.

"I started in 2012 putting the French national team above everything else, because no matter how many of the biggest clubs you coach in the world, there's nothing, absolutely nothing, that's above the French national team.

"It was a very special day. I received some very beautiful messages. When I read them, I couldn't help but cry, don't ask me who or why. These messages touched me deeply because they came from people I care about a great deal."

France trailed 4-0 at the break after a poor first-half performance, but fought back in the second half, led by Kylian Mbappe's double.

After pulling back to 4-3, France missed a host of chances and eventually fell short as England took the bronze medal.

"It's a defeat, but we were 4-0 down. We had an unpresentable first half," Deschamps, who is expected to be replaced by Zinedine Zidane, told M6 about the match itself.

"There was a reaction with what we were able to do well. We had two chances to equalise at 4-4, but we projected ourselves a little more. That's what we know how to do, but we didn't do it.

"It's my fault because I didn't have to do what I needed to do in the first half. It looks like something, even if the defeat hurts. It would have been better to finish third. We set off with a lot of ambitions. We managed to do a lot of positive things.

"The disappointment is there on a sporting level. We had the opportunity to manufacture emotions for tens of millions of French people. It's the World Cup; there's nothing more beautiful. There is nothing more beautiful than wearing the jersey of the French team."