Didier Deschamps will not be on the bench for the France national football team on Friday, after returning to France following the death of his mother. The French Football Federation said the coach learned of the death on Tuesday morning and left to attend the funeral.
The timing matters because France can clinch Group I against Norway, but it will have to do it with assistant Guy Stephan in charge. France and Norway meet at 3 p.m. ET on Friday, June 26, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, with both sides on six points and France ahead on goal differential.
Philippe Diallo agreed that Stephan would lead the squad until Deschamps returns, extending a role he has filled alongside the coach since 2012. That arrangement leaves France with continuity on the sideline, but not the man who has guided it through two straight wins and into position to finish the group on top.
France reached this point after beating Senegal and Iraq, giving it a 2-0-0 record and six points before the meeting with Norway. The team is still in control of its path in the 2026 World Cup, yet Friday will test whether it can complete the job without Deschamps present for one of its most important group matches.
What remains unanswered is when Deschamps will rejoin the squad, and that matters less for the bracket than for the atmosphere around a team trying to close out Group I while its coach is away for a family loss. For now, Stephan is the one who will stand on the touchline when France kicks off against Norway.
