France head coach Didier Deschamps will miss his side’s final FIFA World Cup group stage match against Norway after the death of his mother, the French Football Federation confirmed on Tuesday.
The 57-year-old received the news on Tuesday morning and was granted permission by FFF president Philippe Diallo to return to France and attend the funeral.
As a result, Deschamps will not oversee training sessions ahead of Friday’s Group I showdown against Norway in Boston. He will also be absent from the touchline for the match, which will determine the group winner.
France have already secured qualification for the knockout stage after opening their campaign with victories over Senegal and Iraq. However, the meeting with Norway remains important as both teams sit on six points and are battling for top spot in the group.
In an official statement, the French Football Federation confirmed that assistant coach Guy Stephan will take charge of the squad until Deschamps returns.
“Didier Deschamps will not be able to lead training sessions ahead of the Norway-France match. He will also not be present on the bench on Friday for the last match of the Bleus in Group I (9 p.m., local time).
The national team coach had the sorrow, this Tuesday morning, of learning of the death of his mother. He will return to France to attend her funeral.
In agreement with Philippe Diallo, the president of the French Football Federation, who is present at the France team’s base camp for the World Cup in the United States, Didier Deschamps has entrusted responsibility to his assistant, Guy Stéphan, to lead the group until his return.
In this extremely painful moment, we wish the coach and his family much courage and assure them of the support of everyone at the Federation.”
Deschamps remains one of the most successful figures in French football history. As a player, he captained France to victory at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and helped the nation win the UEFA European Championship in 2000.
He took charge of the national team in July 2012 and has since guided Les Bleus to remarkable success. Under his leadership, France won the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and reached another final in 2022, where they finished runners-up to Argentina.
France have enjoyed a strong start to the 2026 World Cup. They defeated Senegal 3-1 in their opening match before beating Iraq 3-0 in Philadelphia, a game that included a weather interruption of more than two hours.
Deschamps is currently in the final weeks of his tenure as France manager. His contract is set to expire on July 31, 2026, following the conclusion of the World Cup, bringing an end to a highly successful 14-year spell in charge of the national team.
