France coach steps back from World Cup for mother's funeral

France head coach Didier Deschamps has temporarily left the national team’s FIFA World Cup journey after his mother passed away, the French Football Federation (FFF) confirmed on Tuesday.

The federation shared that the 57-year-old will return to France for the funeral. He will not be part of the team’s preparations or their final Group I match against Norway on Friday in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

In a statement, the FFF said that Deschamps got the sad news about his mother on Tuesday morning. He then decided with federation president Philippe Diallo to leave the team’s camp in the United States.

“Didier Deschamps will not be able to lead training sessions ahead of the Norway-France match. He will also not be present on the bench on Friday for the last match of the Bleus in Group I (9 p.m., local time).

“The national team coach had the sorrow, this Tuesday morning, of learning of the death of his mother. He will return to France to attend her funeral.

“In agreement with Philippe Diallo, the president of the French Football Federation, who is present at the France team’s base camp for the World Cup in the United States, Didier Deschamps has entrusted responsibility to his assistant, Guy Stéphan, to lead the group until his return.

“In this extremely painful moment, we wish the coach and his family much courage and assure them of the support of everyone at the Federation,” the statement read on X.

With Deschamps away, long-serving assistant coach Guy Stéphan will take charge of the French team until the manager returns.

This news comes as France is having another strong World Cup campaign. Les Bleus have already qualified for the Round of 32 after starting their tournament with a 3-1 win over Senegal and then easily beating Iraq 3-0.

Friday’s match against Norway, led by Erling Haaland, will decide who tops Group I. France has already secured their place in the knockout rounds.

Deschamps’ temporary absence also adds an emotional touch to what is his farewell tournament as France coach. The former midfielder has led one of the most successful periods in French football during his 14-year tenure, guiding Les Bleus to the 2018 FIFA World Cup title.

He also took France to the 2022 World Cup final, where they lost on penalties to Argentina, and the Euro 2016 final, where Portugal defeated them. For now, however, football is on hold as France supports their manager during this tough personal time.