Didier Deschamps will miss the France national football team’s World Cup match against Norway on Friday after returning to France following his mother’s death. France can clinch Group I on Friday, but it must do so without its head coach on the bench.
Deschamps Returns to France
The French Football Federation said on Tuesday, June 23 that Deschamps learned that morning of his mother’s death and would go home for her funeral. In the same statement, it said the national team coach would be away from the squad for the match at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
France will play that game with Guy Stephan in charge. The federation said that, in agreement with Philippe Diallo, Deschamps had entrusted Stephan with responsibility for leading the squad until his return.
Guy Stephan Takes Over
Stephan has worked as an assistant coach under Deschamps since 2012, so France is not handing the bench to someone outside the staff. That keeps the structure stable for a match that arrives with first place in Group I still in play.
France and Norway were tied at 2-0-0 and six points entering Friday’s game, with France holding the goal differential tiebreaker. France also arrived with six points from back-to-back wins over Senegal and Iraq, giving the match direct weight in the group race.
Group I on Friday
The fixture is scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m. ET on Friday, June 26, and the Group I match is set to air on Fox, with Peacock carrying the Spanish-language broadcast. Fubo also offered a free trial to new subscribers.
For France, the practical shift is simple: the team still plays for control of the group, but Stephan will manage the sideline while Deschamps is away for family reasons. Whether Deschamps is back before France’s next match is not answered here; what is clear is that Friday’s group decider goes ahead without the coach who built this setup.
