It remains to be seen whether Didier Deschamps is in charge of France for their March clash with Ireland and their qualification campaign for Euro 2024, however, the current coach believes the future of the national side is very bright.
And whatever coach takes charge of the World Cup runners-up for their next competitive matches they will have the benefit of drawing from a "reservoir of talents" when selecting their squad.
The France head coach was speaking after his side's incredible World Cup final defeat to champions Argentina, where Deschamps men looked completely out of touch in the opening half of the game where they were trailing by two goals at the break.
A host of changes, including two before half-time, saw France slowly but surely gain a modicum of momentum in the match, thanks to players like Marcus Thuram, Kingsley Coman and Randal Kolo Muani, who had all started the game on the bench.
And then the quality of star man Kylian Mbappe finally shone through as France scored twice in two minutes with the Golden Boot winner grabbing both goals to take the game to extra time.
Mbappe would eventually complete his hat-trick during the additional half hour of football, however, France came undone in the penalty shoot-out as they had one spot-kick saved and one that missed the target as Argentina won 4-2.
The inexperience of youth has been cited as a possible cause when it came to maintaining composure in that vital spot-kick scenario, where 22-year-old Aurelien Tchouameni dragged his effort wide of the post, and there was a general belief that this France side were in transition coming into the tournament.
And yet Deschamps was happy with the way his side performed throughout, backed up by the fact that they made it all the way to the final, and he expects the same players to take the experience into future tournaments.
"Before this tournament, we had a lot of players with little experience and they proved that they could play at the highest level," said Deschamps. "There are also others who were not here but all of them will be able to feature in the next tournaments.
"Potentially, this France team has an important reservoir of talents. We'll always need experienced team leaders to groom the young players, but the reservoir is big," he added.
"Now we have to shape up a squad so that on top of the players' qualities, we have the mindset.
"I was not worried about that before the tournament and I'm not worried about it now."
France begin their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a home game against the Netherlands on 24 March before travelling to Dublin three days later to take on Stephen Kenny’s Republic of Ireland.
And Deschamps feels that the experience that the national side have gained since hosting the tournament in 2016 will allow this continually evolving side to flourish further.
"Some players have been in the Euro 2016 final, won the 2018 World Cup, they bring their experience. Maturity is important," said Deschamps.
"But with a good balance, some young players will raise their level just like some did four years ago and some did at this World Cup."
Deschamps also confirmed that his own future would be decided in the New Year and whether he would stay on as head coach was a question that he was unable to answer in the aftermath of such an emotional occasion.
It is ten years since Deschamps first took charge of the national team, leading France to the final of Euro 2016, before going one step further to win the World Cup in 2018. He was also captain when Les Blues won their first World Cup in 1998.
"You’re not the first person to ask that question," said Deschamps, when asked if he will stay on as manager.
"In fact, even if we’d won the match, I wouldn’t be able to reply to that question tonight. "Of course, I’m very sad for my players and for all of my staff.
"But, as you know, I’ll have a meeting with the president at the beginning next year and then you’ll find out."
Karim Benzema appears to have called time on his international career, while it remains to be seen whether other experienced players, such as N’Golo Kante will feature in upcoming campaigns, while 35-year-old captain Hugo Lloris stressed the importance of mixing youth and experience to keep the team competing for silverware.
"There are no words that will appease our pain, but I think this tournament will serve us for the future," said Lloris.
"It's a bit of a relay between a generation who are near the end of their career and a new generation led by Kylian, who showed what leader he could be, in the tournament and in the final.
"We have to keep this France team at this level, with the best players on the world and European stage."
