Zinedine Zidane confirmed Sunday he would one day like to coach the France national team, but did not say if he was hoping to take over from outgoing boss Didier Deschamps.
Zidane, who scored twice in France’s 1998 World Cup final win over Brazil, led Real Madrid to three Champions League titles in his only previous senior head coaching role.
“I’m sure I’ll get back into coaching,” Zidane said at an event organised by Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport.
READ ALSO: Super Eagles Land In Uyo After Mid-Air Scare
“I’m not saying it’s going to happen now, what I want one day is to coach the national team.”
The 53-year-old is the favourite to take over from Deschamps when the 2018 World Cup-winning coach steps down after next year’s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“The most important thing is to have a passion for football and to want to pass on something to your players, what you have in you, deep within you,” added Zidane, whose second spell in charge of Real Madrid ended in 2021.
“A coach has an important role in the success of his team. In my opinion his energy and desire are 80 percent of whether things go well.”
The Super Eagles of Nigeria have arrived in Uyo ahead of Tuesday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying clash against the Benin Republic.
Their safe arrival was announced in a post on Sunday via the X handle of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
They were said to have touched down safely at the Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo, at 8:05 a.m. local time.
The post read, “The @NGSuperEagles have finally arrived Uyo after a delay in Luanda, Angola due to issues with the aircraft conveying them back home after the win over Lesotho. Now to get one over Benin! Yes. We can.”
This comes after a tense 24-hour travel delay caused by a mid-air emergency involving their chartered ValueJet aircraft.
The same aircraft had earlier transported part of the team’s delegation to Polokwane on Thursday night, arriving on Friday morning.
READ ALSO: We Want To Be At The World Cup — Troost-Ekong
Update: The @NGSuperEagles have finally arrived Uyo after a delay in Luanda, Angola due to issues with the aircraft conveying them back home after the win over Lesotho.
Now to get one over Benin!
Yes. We can. pic.twitter.com/hNUGidhCsO
NFF stated that during the return journey, after a scheduled refuelling stop in Luanda, the aircraft developed the fault shortly after take-off.
The Federation had earlier blamed the emergency landing on a cracked windscreen.
”However, after a routine refuelling stop in Luanda, Angola (where the plane also stopped to refuel on Thursday night, and where the same plane had stopped to refuel to and from Bloemfontein in South Africa for the Matchday 8 encounter between the Super Eagles and the Bafana Bafana last month).
”The aircraft suffered a cracked windscreen mid-air after take-off, and the pilot did well to guide the aeroplane safely back to the airport in Luanda,” the NFF said
The aircraft conveying Nigeria’s Super Eagles from South Africa to Uyo for their final World Cup qualifier against the Benin Republic made an emergency landing in Luanda, Angola, on Saturday after developing a technical fault mid-air.
The ValueJet aircraft, which initially stopped in Luanda to refuel, reportedly turned back about 25 minutes after takeoff when a loud crack appeared on the aircraft’s windshield, prompting the pilot to initiate emergency procedures.
READ ALSO: We Want To Be At The World Cup — Troost-Ekong
The same aircraft had flown some members of the delegation to Polokwane on Thursday night, arriving in the South African city on Friday morning.
All players, officials, and government delegates on board were safely evacuated upon landing.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) confirmed the incident, adding that a cracked windscreen was responsible for the emergency landing
”However, after a routine refuelling stop in Luanda, Angola (where the plane also stopped to refuel on Thursday night, and where the same plane had stopped to refuel to and from Bloemfontein in South Africa for the Matchday 8 encounter between the Super Eagles and the Bafana Bafana last month).”
”The aircraft suffered a cracked windscreen mid-air after take-off, and the pilot did well to guide the aeroplane safely back to the airport in Luanda,” the NFF said
The football federation also said plans were being made for another aircraft to fly from Lagos and pick up the delegation in Luanda.
Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong has praised Lesotho for their spirited performance while reaffirming Nigeria’s determination to finish their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on a strong note.
Speaking during a post-match conference after Nigeria’s hard-fought encounter against Lesotho on Friday, Ekong admitted it was a difficult game and acknowledged the opponents’ effort.
“Lesotho played a great game; it wasn’t easy to come here. I can understand their disappointment and frustration because they put up a very good fight,” he said
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Ahead of the crucial tie against the Benin Republic, the 32-year-old Al-Kholood centre back emphasised the team’s intent to deliver a dominant performance.
”Playing against Benin Republic, we know we have to score a certain number of goals, that’s the mindset we need to go in with. But it has always been the same: we need to win the game, and we have to win it convincingly,” he said.
Despite the mounting expectations, Ekong believes the Super Eagles are mentally and physically prepared for what lies ahead.
“It’s going to be a big test again, but now I think the team is really ready. We’ve been working on handling pressure for a long time, and we know this is the final push. We’ve worked hard to get here.
Ekong revealed that the team has been under immense pressure since the qualifiers began, but remains focused on their goal of securing a World Cup ticket.
“These kinds of games are not easy. The coach, Finidi George, explained that the pressure has been on us since March, or really, since the start of the qualifiers, and we just wanted to focus on ourselves,” he explained.
He also shed light on the team’s emotions after the match, describing the players’ hunger and commitment to success.
Jessica Pegula fought back to end Aryna Sabalenka’s perfect record in Wuhan with a dramatic 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) victory in the semi-finals on Saturday and will face Coco Gauff for the title.
Contesting an eighth consecutive three-setter, Pegula clawed her way back from 2-5 down in the decider to shock the world number one and set up a final against fellow American Gauff, who squeezed past Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3.
“That was crazy, I can’t believe I came back and won that,” said Pegula, who has won seven of the eight consecutive three-set matches she played in the last 17 days.
“I’m just really proud of myself. I’ve played so much tennis the last few weeks, so many three-set matches but I feel like I’m very tough right now and I’m just using that as best I can.”
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USA Jessica Pegula celebrates her victory against Belaruss Aryna Sabalenka at the end of their womens singles semi-final match during the Wuhan Open tennis tournament in Wuhan, central Chinas Hubei province on October 11, 2025. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)
The sixth-seeded Pegula is through to her sixth final of the season having dethroned the reigning Wuhan champion Sabalenka, who came into the match with a perfect 20-0 record at the tournament.
Played in significantly cooler temperatures compared to the rest of the week, both semi-finals of the day featured a whopping number of service breaks due to the slower conditions.
There were five breaks of serve in the first six games of the contest before Sabalenka managed to consolidate her advantage and create a 5-2 gap.
Pegula, 31, threw her racquet in frustration when Sabalenka fired a return winner to get to set point the following game and the Belarusian scooped the opening set as the match clock hit 40 minutes.
Despite her struggles on serve Pegula was playing great off the ground, which helped her course-correct in the second set.
Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka serves to USAs Jessica Pegula during their womens singles semi-final match at the Wuhan Open tennis tournament in Wuhan, central Chinas Hubei province on October 11, 2025. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)
The American squandered a 2-0 lead early on but recovered to wrestle the second set away from Sabalenka’s hands and force a decider.
The final set was another see-saw affair but it looked almost over when Sabalenka served for the win at 5-3. Pegula had other ideas and flipped the script to lead 6-5.
Serving for the victory, Pegula double-faulted four times and let two match points slip away, allowing Sabalenka to force a deciding tiebreak.
Pegula upped her level when she needed it the most to claim just the third victory from 11 meetings with Sabalenka.
Gauff ousts Paolini
USA’s Coco Gauff hits a return to Italy’s Jasmine Paolini during their women’s singles semi-final match at the Wuhan Open tennis tournament in Wuhan, Central China’s Hubei province on October 11, 2025. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP)
Gauff survived a battle of wills and some serving wobbles against Paolini in their semi-final.
The two-time Grand Slam champion had lost all three meetings she had with Paolini in 2025 but turned things around with a clutch effort on Saturday.
“It was 3-0 this year but I think our head-to-head is even now,” said Gauff of her record against the Italian.
“I’m really happy with how I played today, it was tough, especially playing on the serve, but I did what I needed to do to get through.”
In a semi-final dominated by the return, Gauff edged Paolini by the slimmest of margins.
A run of 11 consecutive breaks of serve swung the momentum like a pendulum but it was Gauff who finally held serve in game seven of the second set en route to an 82-minute victory.
Kylian Mbappe will miss Monday’s qualifier in Iceland where France could book their ticket to the 2026 World Cup after taking another knock to his sore right ankle, the French team confirmed.
Already suffering from a “small niggle” in his right ankle from playing for Real Madrid, Mbappe took two knocks during Friday’s 3-0 World Cup qualifying win over Azerbaijan in Paris, where he opened the scoring but was substituted before the end of the match.
The France captain’s absence adds to the long list of forwards unavailable for October’s World Cup qualifiers, which includes Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Marcus Thuram and Bradley Barcola.
Mbappe “will not be able to play Monday against Iceland,” a French Football Federation (FFF) statement read.
READ ALSO: World Cup: We Were Under Pressure, Says Chelle After Slim Win
Real Madrid’s French forward #10 Kylian Mbappe (C) celebrates with his teammates after scoring the 0-1 goal during the UEFA Champions League first round day 2 football match between Kairat Almaty and Real Madrid at the Almaty Ortalyk stadion in Almaty on September 30, 2025. (Photo by Vyacheslav OSELEDKO / AFP) Related content
After returning to the Clairefontaine training ground on Friday night, “the French team captain spoke with (coach) Didier Deschamps,” who “acknowledged his absence”.
Mbappe “has been released to his club (Real Madrid) and will not be replaced,” the FFF added.
The French superstar had already been rested for training with Les Bleus during the week with the same issue.
Mbappe scored on the stroke of half-time and was then struck by a tackle from Rustam Ahmedzade. He took another knock to the same ankle late in the game, and was replaced by Florian Thauvin.
Real Madrid’s French forward, Kylian Mbappe, fights for the ball with Atletico Madrid’s Spanish midfielder, Marcos Llorente, during the Spanish league football match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid CF at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid on September 27, 2025. (Photo by Javier SORIANO / AFP)
“He has a sore ankle and he took a knock there. He preferred to come off; the pain was quite significant,” Deschamps said after the French victory.
Adrien Rabiot and the substitute Thauvin were also on the scoresheet as Deschamps’s men remain unbeaten after three games and top of Group D.
