French national team head coach Didier Deschamps missed France’s final group game against Norway on June 26, 2026, after returning to France to attend his mother’s funeral [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The 57-year-old learned of his mother’s death on June 23 and immediately left to be with his family [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
Assistant coach Guy Stephan took charge of the team in Deschamps’ absence for the Group I match [1, 2, 6, 7, 3, 8, 4, 5]. France defeated Norway 4-1 behind a first-half hat-trick from Ousmane Dembele and a stoppage-time header by Desire Doue [6, 7, 8]. Both teams had already secured qualification to the knockout stage before the game [1, 2, 6, 4, 5]. The win confirmed France as Group I winners, easing travel for the next round [6, 7, 9, 10].
Stephan praised the players’ effort to honor their coach. “All the players did what they had to do,” he said. “Given that they are very close to Didier, the players wanted to do something special today on the pitch” [6]. However, Stephan also noted some lapses during the match against a Norway side resting most starters: “There were times when things got easy and then we didn't run as much...we gave opportunities to the opponents” [6].
French Football Federation president Philippe Diallo approved Deschamps’ return to France and arranged for Stephan to lead in his absence [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Deschamps rejoined the squad on June 27 after attending the funeral and will return to training tomorrow afternoon, Stephan said [6, 9, 10].
France won its prior group games 3-1 against Senegal and 3-0 against Iraq [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. France is scheduled to face Sweden in the Round of 32 on June 30, 2026, in New Jersey [9, 10]. Deschamps has led France since 2012, guiding them to the 2018 World Cup title and the 2022 final [2, 4].
