France will be without head coach Didier Deschamps for its final Group I match at the World Cup after the French Football Federation said he returned to France to attend his mother’s funeral. Assistant coach Guy Stephan will lead the squad against Norway on Ju
By the time France take the field against Norway, the match won’t just be about group standings. It will also be about who sits in the dugout.
On Tuesday, June 23, the French Football Federation announced that head coach Didier Deschamps would miss the team’s final Group I match after returning to France following the death of his mother. In his absence, assistant coach Guy Stephan will serve as interim coach for Les Bleus.
“The national team coach learned this morning of the death of his mother and will return to France to attend her funeral. ” the federation said in a statement. It added that. in agreement with Philippe Diallo. the federation president at the France team’s base camp. Deschamps entrusted Stephan with responsibility for leading the squad until his return.
Deschamps has served as France’s national team coach since 2012. He led Les Bleus to the FIFA World Cup title in 2018, and he previously won a World Cup as a player with France in 1998.
That legacy is likely to matter in the background as Stephan takes over for the game versus Norway. France secured its place in the knockout round with a 3-0 win over Iraq on Monday. June 23 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Kylian Mbappé scored his second brace of the tournament. leaving him two goals shy of tying Lionel Messi’s newly claimed World Cup all-time scoring record.
The immediate stakes are clear: France is set to face Norway at 3 p.m. ET on Friday, June 26 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. A win over Norway would give France the Group I victory. provided the match goes the way the players have already moved—fast. decisive. and with scoring momentum built on Mbappé’s run.
Didier Deschamps France national team Guy Stephan Norway World Cup Group I Mbappé Philippe Diallo Gillette Stadium Lincoln Financial Field