France’s national team coach Didier Deschamps will be absent from the sidelines for the team's final group-stage match against Norway on Friday due to the passing of his mother. The French Football Federation announced that Deschamps learned of his mother’s death earlier in the day and is returning to France to attend her funeral.

As a result, Deschamps will not participate in training sessions leading up to the match and will miss the game, which takes place in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Assistant coach Guy Stephan has been appointed to lead the squad in Deschamps’ absence, according to the federation. This arrangement was made in coordination with Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation, who is currently at the team’s base camp.

France has already secured its place in the knockout phase of the tournament after winning its first two Group I matches, defeating Senegal 3-1 and Iraq 3-0. Norway, which also won its opening two matches, stands to overtake France for the top spot in the group with a victory on Friday.

Deschamps, 57, has been at the helm of the French national team since 2012. Under his leadership, France won the 2018 World Cup and reached the final again in 2022, where they lost to Argentina in a penalty shootout. Prior to his coaching career, Deschamps captained the French squad when it secured the 1998 World Cup on home soil. He retired from international play in 2000 with a then-national record of 103 caps.