Didier Deschamps will not be on the touchline for France's World Cup Group I decider against Norway. He returned to France for his mother's funeral, and Guy Stephan will take charge for the match in Norway vs France.
France's touchline change
The French Football Federation said Deschamps had flown back to France to attend the funeral, which also kept him away from training sessions in recent days. It is a serious personal absence, and one that leaves Stephan with the job of handling a fixture that still carries real group stakes.
France are already through, but the point at the end of the night still matters. Deschamps said France must avoid defeat to top Group I, so the result is not just about managing the occasion without their head coach.
France's form and the scoring duel
The broader picture is still encouraging for France. They have won all five of their last five matches in the curated sample, and they have won both of their World Cup matches in that same tournament sample. Those numbers suggest a team with enough structure to cope with a change on the bench.
The game also carries a scoring contest on top of the group issue. Kylian Mbappé has scored four goals across his last two World Cup appearances, while Erling Haaland has matched that with four goals in his last two World Cup matches. Mbappé's average rating over his last five matches is 7.922, which lines up with the level of output France are leaning on.
Even with Deschamps away, the match still has a clear football edge. France have enough form to get through it, but Stephan now has to manage the one game that decides whether they top Group I.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
