France head coach Didier Deschamps will rejoin his squad in Boston on Saturday after missing Friday’s 4-1 FIFA World Cup victory over Norway to attend his mother’s funeral.
Assistant coach Guy Stephan led the team in Deschamps absence and confirmed that the France boss will return in time to oversee preparations for the knockout stage.
“I have big thoughts for Didier. We are happy that he comes back,” Stephan said after the match. “He will be with us tomorrow at training. Our duo will be reunited and we will get ready for the big games coming up.”
Deschamps only spoke with Stephan on Friday morning before the match and remained away from the squad throughout the game. He also had no contact with his coaching staff during or immediately after France secured top spot in Group I.
“I haven’t spoken to him since this morning, but I will speak to him later,” Stephan added.
It marks the second time Deschamps has been forced to leave the national team because of a family bereavement. In November 2022, he departed the France camp following the death of his father, missing their 2-1 UEFA Nations League defeat to Denmark.
This time, however, France continued their impressive form under Stephan’s guidance. Les Bleus defeated Norway 4-1 to complete a perfect group stage with three wins from three matches. It is the first time France have won all three group games at a World Cup since their triumphant 1998 campaign on home soil.
“Three games, nine points, we would have signed for that a month ago. It’s a lot of satisfaction,” Stephan said.
Ousmane Dembele starred in the victory with the first World Cup hat trick of his career, while Kylian Mbappe continued his outstanding tournament by providing one of the assists. Mbappe had already scored two goals in each of France’s opening two group matches.
Stephan also addressed comparisons between the current squad and the team that reached the World Cup final in 2022. He believes it is still too early to judge whether this generation has surpassed its predecessor.
“It’s a bit early to say if we are better than in 2022,” Stephan said. “This team is totally different. In our squad, we have half of the players who have never played in a World Cup. We have a lot of young players in attack. We can only see as the competition goes on.”
“For now, I don’t see ourselves stronger [than 2022]. Because there is the attacking side and the defensive one. It’s important to have balance and we have to wait a little bit. There were a lot of interesting things in our performance today. We could have scored more goals.”
“What I liked less, if we want to be perfectionist, is the times where we took it too easy and gave chances to the opposition. We have to correct that because the further we will go, the tougher the opponents will be.”
France now move into the Round of 32 as Group I winners. Based on the latest standings, Les Bleus are expected to face Sweden on June 30 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, as they continue their pursuit of a third FIFA World Cup title.
