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France manager Didier Deschamps has returned home from the World Cup after the death of his mother.
Deschamps left the United States in order to attend his mother’s funeral after receiving the news on Tuesday and missed Friday’s Group I decider against Norway at Gillette Stadium.
France and Norway had both secured their berths in the round of 32 with six points out of six thanks to wins over Senegal and Iraq. They met in Boston with top spot and a second-round trip to MetLife Stadium on the line and France won 4-1 after Norway's manager opted to make 10 changes, including the decision to leave Erling Haaland on the bench.
The French Football Federation has offered Deschamps its support
The French Football Federation (FFF) issued a statement this week confirming the absence of the manager from Les Bleus’ final group stage fixture.
“At this incredibly painful time, we wish the head coach great strength and assure him of everyone’s support,” said French football’s governing body.
Long-time assistant coach Guy Stephan took temporary charge and headed up France’s management team for the meeting with Stale Solbakken’s Norway. He will hand the reins back to Deschamps for the round of 32 and beyond.
Deschamps is a titan of the sport. Along with Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer he is one of only three men to win the World Cup both as a player and as a manager.
The stylish midfielder was a serial league championship and Champions League winner with Marseille and Juventus before ascending to the ultimate honour of captaining his national team to World Cup glory on home soil in 1998.
He lifted the European Championship trophy in Rotterdam two years later.
Deschamps has been France’s head coach since 2012 after enjoying further success in charge of Monaco, Juventus and Marseille. Les Bleus won the World Cup in Russia six years into his tenure, defeating Croatia in the final in Moscow.
They were agonisingly close again in Qatar, where they were beaten on penalties by Argentina in the final of World Cup 2022.
Defeat in Lusail meant France didn’t become the third nation to retain the World Cup and Deschamps didn’t join Vittorio Pozzo as the only managers in history to win the competition twice in a row with the same country.
The 57-year-old, who is ranked at no.73 in FourFourTwo's list of the greatest managers ever, will return to the United States for the remainder of World Cup 2026 and his last matches as the head coach of his country’s national team.
It was announced last January that Deschamps would not remain in the job beyond the end of his current contract, which ends at the conclusion of this summer’s tournament.
Zinedine Zidane, Deschamps former teammate, has been widely reported to be in line to succeed the two-time World Cup winner.
